‘Ideology silencing our say on Indigenous voice’

Idealogues inside the Morrison government are blocking Australians from having a say on an Indigenous voice, it has been claimed.

WA Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt.

A group of ideologues inside the Morrison government is blocking Australians from having a say on the important issue of whether an Indigenous voice should be written into the Constitution, West Australian Aboriginal ­Affairs Minister and Treasurer Ben Wyatt has claimed.

The WA minister, an Aboriginal man and nephew of federal Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt, carefully avoided criticising his uncle following the publication of a report showing up to 77 per cent of Australians would support constitutional protection for the Indigenous voice. Prime Minister Scott Morrison supports a voice but not one that is constitutionally ­enshrined, according to a statement from his office last week.

On Saturday, The Weekend Australian revealed the Australian National University had ­analysed 12 polls conducted ­between June 2017 and June this year and concluded more Australians supported a voice in the Constitution than opposed it. The polls varied in size and in the questions asked, and were conducted by a range of organisations, including Crosby Textor, Essential Research, Omnipoll and Newspoll.

“The report reinforces my view that Australians are ready to enshrine recognition of First Nation peoples in our Constitution,” Ben Wyatt said. “It would appear that an ideological group within the Morrison government are denying the Australian people the opportunity to have their say on this fundamental issue of our nationhood.”

Ken Wyatt has worked towards the creation of the voice since the 2019 election.

In ­November 2019 he appointed Indigenous leaders Marcia Langton and Tom Calma to oversee a year-long co-design process comprising three groups and 52 Indigenous and non-­Indigenous people. Their proposals for the voice are awaiting cabinet approval. However, what the voice looks like will not be settled until after the public gets to see it and comment on it.

Ken Wyatt is pressing on with his plan to legislate the Indigenous voice before the next election. That plan does not include a proposal to hold a referendum that would enshrine the voice in the Constitution. The government had intended to hold a referendum in this term of government on the general question of whether Indigenous people should be recognised in the Constitution but that has been shelved because of delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“The government is currently considering the interim report from the Indigenous Voice Co-Design Group ahead of public consultation,” Ken Wyatt said.

“We have always said we would settle the matter of the Indigenous voice first, and it’s my focus to ensure we have a model that meets the needs of Indigenous Australians and delivers practical and meaningful change on the ground and in communities right across the nation.”

“To do this, it is my ambition that we can legislate the Indigenous Voice in this term of parliament. In respect to Constitutional recognition, the government does not support entrenching an Indigenous voice model in the constitution; further work needs to be undertaken to determine any constitutional changes and words that would be put to the Australian people.”