Anthony Albanese opposes reparations for Indigenous Australians

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has flatly rejected paying Indigenous Australians reparations for their treatment by British colonists, and pointed out there is no mention of such payments in the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

No campaigners have raised the possibility of reparations being sought if a Voice to parliament is supported at a referendum this year, pointing to comments by Yes campaigner Thomas Mayo who two years ago called for financial compensation.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has ruled out reparations for Indigenous Australians.Credit: Rhett Wyman

The prime minister’s comments are his most direct on the topic to date and will likely disappoint some Indigenous campaigners, such as independent senator Lidia Thorpe, who have called for reparations. Thorpe has links to the Pay the Rent movement which asks Australians to donate money as a form of reparations.

In an interview on Tuesday, Melbourne radio host Neil Mitchell asked Albanese: “What about reparations, what about truth-telling ... what is your view on those three things?”

Albanese said it was incorrect to suggest a Yes vote would lead to reparations.

“What’s not legitimate is to pretend that that is what the referendum is about,” he said.

“There’s nothing in the Uluru Statement about reparations. There is, as in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, there’s truth-telling, well, is anyone actually against telling the truth?

“I don’t support reparations.”

A two-year-old video of Mayo, a prominent Yes campaigner, was circulated earlier this year in which he calls for “reparations and compensation” to be paid to Indigenous Australians. No campaigners such as Jacinta Nampijinpa Price have seized on the video to warn against constitutional change.

Pressed on whether a successful Yes vote would later lead to a treaty or treaties with Indigenous Australians, Albanese said: “We will have recognition in our Constitution. That’s the first thing. We’re the only former colony in the world that doesn’t have it.”

Nearly all states and territories have committed to pursuing treaties in some form: Victoria and Queensland are the most advanced. There is no proposal for a Commonwealth treaty.

Also in the interview, Albanese said the taxation system could be improved, but no changes would be canvassed in this term of government.

There remained “fundamental differences” between Australia and China, he said, while welcoming signs the trade relationship between the two countries was improving.

Albanese said Australians Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun must be released from detention and that other human rights concerns in China remained “a major issue”.

“When you look at the Uyghurs, you look at what has occurred in Hong Kong, you look at the treatment of other minorities, that remains a major issue. It’s a fundamental difference that we have with China when it comes to human rights, but we have very different economic systems as well,” he said.

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