Greens’ Lidia Thorpe lays out list of demands for Voice support

The Greens will pursue a treaty with Indigenous Australians and a truth-telling commission in exchange for backing the Voice to parliament in negotiations with the Albanese government as it seeks to build cross-party support for the constitutional change.

Greens leader Adam Bandt and Senate deputy leader Lidia Thorpe will lead negotiations with Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney that are expected to begin by the end of this month.

Greens senator Lidia Thorpe will pursue a treaty with Indigenous Australians and a truth-telling commission in exchange for backing the Voice to parliament in negotiations with the federal government.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“Treaty will provide that mechanism for us to negotiate equal terms on how we can live together in the same country and celebrate us as well,” Senator Thorpe told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in an interview.

“We’ve made it clear that the Greens want to see progress on all elements of the Statement [from the Heart]. We support legislation that improves the lives of First Nations people, and I look forward to talking with Minister Burney about how we achieve that together in this Parliament.”

Thorpe has previously argued that a treaty between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians should come before a Voice, but her comments suggest the Greens are now more open to supporting the Voice to parliament.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last month announced plans to establish a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous Voice to parliament, which will require a referendum. The referendum is due to be held before the next election, which is due in May 2025.

To hold a referendum legislation will need to be passed first, which means the Greens’ 12 votes in the Senate are critical. The Coalition has not said if it will formally support or oppose constitutional change but several Coalition MPs and former prime minister Tony Abbott have already spoken out against the Voice.

The 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart recommended a Voice to parliament be enshrined in the constitution and the Makarrata Commission be established to supervise a process of truth-telling about Indigenous history and “agreement-making”, or treaty, between the federal government and Indigenous Australians.

“Let’s tell some truth ... We are the fabric of this country and we’re not treated like that. We’re treated with contempt, really, we’ve got to always prove our existence in this country. So truth will help heal, truth will help unite. Treaty is a mechanism for a negotiation of settlement,” Senator Thorpe said.

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney has previously indicated the government’s willingness to work on implementing all elements of the Uluru Statement, saying in May “everything is on the table”.

Thorpe said the Greens were ready to negotiate in good faith, as they had done on the climate change bill, and that she hoped the prime minister came to negotiations with an “open heart, ready to listen and work together to deliver justice to First Nations people”.

“The PM said that Treaty is ‘ambitious’. After 230 years of colonisation, we need ambition. I challenge the PM to do the work. Any process that could be rushed through the parliament in six months is unlikely to involve any meaningful transfer of power. Self-determination is a human right.”

The Greens will ask for the full implementation of the recommendations contained in the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and the 1997 Bringing Them Home report on the separation of Aboriginal children from their families.

A 2018 review found 64 per cent of Deaths in Custody recommendations had been fully implemented and 14 per cent had been mostly implemented.

Thorpe also wants the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples enshrined in Commonwealth law.

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