Top jurist Terence Cole slams Albanese government’s Voice proposal

A top Australian legal expert has panned the Voice to parliament referendum, claiming the situation will divide the nation based on race. Here’s what he had to say.

One of Australia’s leading jurists has blasted the Albanese government’s proposed Voice to Parliament referendum, saying it is “wrong in principle” and will “split the Australian people permanently into two groups based on race.”

Terence Cole, a former judge on the NSW Court of Appeals who presided over two royal commissions, made the claims in a bombshell submission to a joint parliamentary committee on the Voice.

In the submission Mr Cole noted that the voice is just one part of the broader program of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which calls for “treaty” and “truth telling” as well as a Voice to parliament, and which the Albanese government has accepted in its entirety.

“The voice is critical to the objectives made clear in the Uluru Statement … that Aboriginals wish to establish … sovereignty over Australian territory, ownership of Australian land and surrounding waters … monetary and other compensation … (and) truth telling,” he wrote.

“To achieve (these) objectives, it is necessary to split the Australian people permanently into two groups based solely on race … this is wrong in principle.”

Commissioner Terence Cole QC.

“A Makaratta (truth-telling) commission would look backwards, trawling over events, legislation, policies, and administrative actions over the past 225 years to discover areas of discontent in the minds of present living Aboriginals … and to award compensation.”

Since winning government, Anthony Albanese has repeatedly underlined for his support for he entire Uluru Statement, opening his acceptance speech after last year’s election saying, “On behalf of the Australian Labor Party, I commit to the Uluru Statement from the heart in full.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with Yothu Yindi Foundation Chair Galarrwuy Yunupingu the Garma Festival in 2022. Picture: Aaron Bunch

As part of his submission, Mr Cole also attached a separate paper he authored in which he noted that “when asked to vote to amend the Constitution to incorporate the Voice, Australians need to understand that the Voice will be used to support the demands for recognition of coexisting sovereignty, a Makarrata commission designed to produce a treaty and monetary compensation, and a rewriting of Australian history.”

“The potential for great irredeemable harm to Australian society means the voice should never be incorporated into the Australian constitution, which should be amended only if such amendment advantages Australian society as a whole.”

“The Voice does not,” he wrote.