Indigenous leaders condemn Jacinta Price, Nationals over opposition to voice to parliament

Leaders representing some of the most remote Aboriginal communities say Jacinta Price does not speak for them.

Northern Territory Senator Jacinta Price. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Leaders representing some of Australia’s most remote Aboriginal communities say Country Liberal Party Senator Jacinta Price does not speak for them and her opposition to the Indigenous voice ignores the wishes of communities across the nation who believe that, if designed well, it can make lasting practical change.

Empowered Communities is an alliance of 10 regional, urban and remote Indigenous leaders trying to transform their communities, including by creating economic opportunities.

The alliance had a close working relationship with the previous Coalition government, which supported the aims of Empowered Communities, but on Wednesday 14 of its leaders condemned what they described as the National Party’s “premature decision to oppose a referendum on a constitutionally-guaranteed First Nations voice”.

“We understood that the National Party represented regional Australians in Parliament, but it has disregarded our local and regional Indigenous voices on this issue,” the leaders said in a media statement issued Wednesday.

“We disagree with the assertion that a First Nations voice would not make a practical difference to closing the gap. If it is properly designed and implemented, this will empower our communities to close the gap in partnership with governments.”

The leaders who issued the statement are from Cape York, Queensland, Central Coast, New South Wales, East Kimberley, Western Australia, Goulburn-Murray, Victoria, Inner Sydney, New South Wales, Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Lands, Central Australia, North East Arnhem Land (NEAL), Northern Territory. West Kimberley, Western Australia, Lower River Murray, Lakes and Coorong, SA and Far West Coast, SA.

“The Nationals should actively help design a voice that delivers practical results, rather than passively predicting failure and playing political games,” the leaders said.

“Indigenous people want to close the gap on the range of complex challenges we face, including widespread unemployment, health, violence and incarceration, addictions, and the scourge of suicide. These are difficult challenges that successive governments have proven incapable of addressing.

“Our communities live these problems. We are best placed to help solve them. That is why the Uluru Statement asked for a constitutionally enshrined Voice, to empower local communities to partner with government to develop better solutions. This is a reasonable and fair request. The current system has not been delivering answers to the complex challenges our communities face. A long succession of annual Closing the Gap reports demonstrates the failure.”

The leaders – including Tyronne Garstone from the Kimberley Land Council, Denise Bowden from the Yothu Yindi Foundation and Ian Trust from Kununurra – said an Indigenous voice was not intended to be “a top-down body that only speaks for inner-city communities”.

“It must empower local and regional communities,” the leaders said.

They urged the National Party to read the report proposing how the voice should work that was commissioned by them and the Liberals when they were in government “and work productively with government to design a First Nations voice that delivers on these aims”.

“The voice proposal comes from Indigenous Australians. We are sick of politicians in Canberra telling us that they know better than us about the reforms we need to address the problems we face,” the leaders said.

“Our local and regional communities need a fairer say in decisions made about us, so we can take responsibility to tackle the hard issues … We are not interested in false divisions between the city and the bush. We are interested in practical results for all Indigenous Australians.

The leaders invited Nationals leader David Littleproud to work with Indigenous people to design a voice structure that did this.

“National Party representatives have significant Indigenous populations in their electorates. They should respect the unprecedented national Indigenous consensus that was delivered through the Uluru Statement from the Heart in 2017, which we wholeheartedly endorse,” the leaders said.

“The fact that one Indigenous Senator in the Northern Territory (Jacinta Nampijinpa Price) disagrees with a First Nations voice should not dictate the National Party’s position.

“Senator Jacinta Price does not speak for Indigenous people in our regions in NPY Lands, in the Goulburn Murray, in Far North Queensland, in East Kimberley and West Kimberley, Ngarrindjeri Ruwe and Far West Coast South Australia, in Redfern and La Perouse and Central Coast NSW.

“Nor do the Senator’s views reflect the views of the Yolngu in North-East Arnhem Land.

“ The fact that Senator Price does not listen to or heed our regional Indigenous voices underscores why we need a constitutionally guaranteed voice in our affairs: because individual politicians – be they Indigenous or non-Indigenous – are often too busy grandstanding and politically manoeuvring to work with our communities on improving outcomes for us.”

The leaders said Indigenous Australians could not rely on Indigenous politicians to advocate for their communities.

“Our communities need a seat at the table to advocate for ourselves,” the leaders said.