Voice letter accusing Australians of ‘shameful act’ could backfire on treaty talks

A letter from Indigenous leaders accusing Australians of a “shameful act” in turning down the Voice proposal could do more harm than good as the government moves to distance itself from the controversial statement. Here’s what they said.

A scathing letter from Indigenous leaders that accused Australians of committing a “shameful act” in voting down the Voice referendum will undermine any hope of a First Nations treaty, supporters of the Yes campaign have said.

Kate Carnell, the Liberal who led a party of MPs and members in breaking ranks and advocating for the Voice, said the letter from Indigenous leaders will “weaken” any support for a treaty among the 60 per cent of Australians who voted no.

The furious letter released by a cohort of Indigenous leaders has miffed moderate Liberals who campaigned hard for the Voice and whose affluent electorates backed the proposal.

It comes as senior government figures distanced themselves with the views outlined in the letter by reiterating that the government was respecting the decision of the Australian public.

Kate Carnell said the letter from Indigenous leaders will “weaken” any support for a treaty.

“I understand the hurt from the people who wrote that but I’m not sure it’s helpful … I don’t think finger pointing helps because I don’t think 60 per cent of Australians who voted No were misguided, that they were racist. It doesn’t help to suggest they didn’t know what they are doing,” Ms Carnell said.

“If you attempt to say ‘We were robbed’ it just shores up people’s view … I do think it will weaken support for the First Nations treaty. It will get in the way of support for a treaty, not help support for a treaty.”

Ms Carnell said the letter which placed the blame for the Voice defeat squarely on the shoulders of Coalition leaders Peter Dutton and David Littleproud ignored the campaigning of the NSW and Tasmanian Liberal parties.

“I’m disappointed, I don’t think it’s helpful. There were lots of Liberals who voted yes. The leader of the opposition in NSW, a chunk of his shadow ministers were aggressively supporting the Yes approach, as were the Tasmanians. There were a lot of people who I worked with who are Liberal Party members,” she said.

Linda Burney said she will respect the wishes of Australians. Picture: Martin Ollman

Acting PM Richard Marles said the public always gets the answer right. Picture: Martin Ollman

“A lack of bipartisan support was one of the major reasons for failure but that meant more work needed to be done to get bipartisan support.”

On Tuesday, senior government ministers were grilled on whether they supported the letter’s sentiments which accused the Voice referendum of unleashing a “tsunami of racism” and that there was “nothing positive” to come from the exercise.

While the letter accused the Australian public of falling for disinformation and lies, Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney respected the view of the Australian public.

“We understand that many Indigenous people are disappointed and hurt by the result on October 14. We accept and respect the decision of the Australian people,” a spokesman for Ms Burney told The Daily Telegraph.

: Senator Penny Wong said the issue had become “very partisan”. Picture: Kelly Barnes

“We are looking forward to engaging with Indigenous organisations and leaders across the country in the coming months.”

The government did not mention the pursuit of a First Nations treaty or truth telling — the remaining two parts of the Uluru Statement from the Heart — but said their focus would be on “health, education, jobs and housing. Including housing and service improvements in remote NT communities and replacing the broken Community Development Program with a more effective jobs program.”

Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles also refused to criticise the decision of the public.

“Obviously, the outcome of the referendum was not what I hoped, but the Australian people always get the answer right,” he said.

“The result that occurred in the referendum was not a vote against reconciliation, nor was it a vote against taking action on closing the gap.”

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher told ABC “from the government’s point of view, the referendum was held. We respect and accept that decision” while Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said she regretted that the issue had “become very partisan”.

Originally published as Voice letter accusing Australians of ‘shameful act’ could backfire on treaty talks