Linda Burney calls for respect as Peter Dutton sledged in Question Time

MPs have traded blows over the Voice to Parliament despite one minister calling for ‘respect’.

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney has renewed her calls for mutual respect ahead of the referendum, just minutes before the Treasurer was forced to withdraw comments he made about Peter Dutton.

In a Question Time dominated by the proposed Voice to Parliament, the Coalition used all but one of their questions to probe Ms Burney about details and comments made by prominent Yes campaigners.

Ms Burney was asked to condemn Indigenous academic Marcia Langton, who the Opposition and No campaign say called No voters “racist” and “stupid”.

Professor Langton says her comments were misconstrued, saying she was making comments about the No campaign, not its voters.

Ms Burney used the question to instead plead for the debate in the lead-up to the October 14 debate to be one of “respect” and without racism, dominated by fact.

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney was asked all but one of the Coalition’s questions in Question Time on Wednesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“Everyone in this debate should act respectfully and with care for one another,” she said.

“The tone of the debate in this parliament matters. There must be a mutual respect here. We must be guided by love and by faith … I do not know how Australians will vote on October 14, none of us do, but what I know for certain is this – we are the greatest country in the world, and we can be even greater if we embrace recognition.”

But a short time later, after fielding a question from a government backbencher, Jim Chalmers left Ms Burney’s request by the wayside and launched an attack on Mr Dutton - accusing him of peddling misinformation.

“This Voice … is not about the lies and the misinformation which we have seen peddled by parts of the No campaign. The Leader of the Opposition has not distanced himself from that misinformation, he has embraced it. In this campaign of misinformation and mistruths, the Opposition Leader is a chief propagandist,” he said.

A point of order ensued, and the Treasurer was cautioned before he continued: “The leader of the opposition has seen this … not as a chance for unity, but as an excuse to practice the usual nasty and negative angry and dishonest and divisive politics,” he said.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers was forced to withdraw his comment. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Another point of order ensued, before Dr Chalmers continued: “He wants to drag this out for as long as possible so the Opposition Leader can drop more poison into the well, to divide and diminish the country and reap a political dividend”.

Dr Chalmers was forced to withdraw his statement before appealing to Australians to “get this done”.

Dr Chalmers wasn’t the only one to attack Mr Dutton in Question Time, with Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus calling out the Opposition Leader for his “grubby tactics” and accusing him for ignoring facts.

“The proposed constitutional amendments says the Voice will have the power to make representations on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. That is a fact. The Leader of the Opposition ignores this fact and asserts the Voice would influence every area of public administration and grind the whole of government to a halt,” Mr Dreyfus said.

“Australians want outcomes, not arguments. Australians want the truth, not grubby tactics.”

Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said it was “disappointing but unsurprising” that the “Burney Doctrine of love and respect” was “violated within seconds” by two of her most senior colleagues.

“The Burney Doctrine, much like Labor’s whole approach to the Voice, is flimsy, self-serving, and doesn’t make it past the barest of scrutiny,” Ms Ley said.

“She dodged us in the chamber, but the minister will eventually have to account for these questions - the 14th of October is coming.”