Indigenous voice not in national cabinet, says Linda Burney

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney has declared there will be no ‘permanent seat’ for the voice at national cabinet.

Independent senators David Pocock and Lidia Thorpe deep in conversation on the crossbench on Tuesday, a day after Senator Thorpe quit the Greens. Picture: Getty Images

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney has declared there will be no “permanent seat” for the voice at national cabinet, as the Coalition revealed it would reject government legislation setting up the voice referendum unless its amendments gained parliament’s support.

“The voice will not have a permanent seat at national cabinet,” Ms Burney told The Australian late on Tuesday. “National cabinet is formed of first ministers and the prime minister.”

The comments from Ms Burney come in response to the government’s Special Envoy for Reconciliation, Senator Patrick Dodson, the “father of reconciliation”, saying it would be “wise” for representatives of the voice to be involved with the nation’s leading body of first ministers.

Ms Burney also responded after Peter Dutton accused Anthony Albanese of being “tricky” about the involvement of voice representatives in formulating government policy.

“If you’ve got a constitutionally enshrined voice that has a seat at the national cabinet table, will the High Court interpret that that means their voice should be listened to, that they have an equal say around the cabinet table with the states and territories and the commonwealth in discussions and policy?” the Opposition Leader said.

On Tuesday, the Coalition also made clear it wanted household pamphlets to be sent to every letterbox outlining the Yes and No cases, as well as even public funding for both sides of the campaign, which Labor’s referendum legislation does not provide for.

A Coalition spokeswoman said the government was “potentially open-minded about moving on this” and didn’t believe a vote on the legislation was imminent.

She did not want the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill, which was introduced to the House of Representatives in December and aligns the referendum’s procedures with that of federal elections, to set a precedent for future public votes.

Mr Dutton said it was a “simple request” to give Australians a booklet, as has happened in past referendums, stating the Yes and No campaigns.

“Allow Australians to make up their own minds,” the Opposition Leader said. “If the Prime Minister is saying that you don’t deserve to know one side of the case or the other, I just don’t understand how that is a genuine approach to allowing Australians to make an informed judgment about changing our Constitution.

“This is not a simple plebiscite. It is not a law change that can be amended or abolished or added to later on. This is a change to our Constitution and if the Prime Minister is saying a booklet shouldn’t go out or that people shouldn’t receive information, well why not?”

Independent senator David Pocock is the only upper house crossbencher so far to indicate support for the referendum bill.

The Greens will back the legislation after announcing its support for the voice on Monday night but the government must also win the votes of two more crossbenchers if the Coalition ultimately rejects the machinery provisions.

Government sources said requirements such as the pamphlet were introduced and enforced before online and digital communication was even imagined.

The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters will hand down a report into the referendum machinery bill on Friday, and the government will “carefully consider” its recommendations before looking at other amendments.

Ms Burney urged her colleagues to hold community barbecues and publish posts on social media in support of the voice during a “week of action” for the Yes campaign from February 18.

Earlier this week, Senator Dodson said the voice to parliament should have a role in advising the national cabinet, in an apparent expansion of the proposed model.

On ABC radio, Ms Burney said: “I think the voice is an advisory body, as detailed in the Uluru statement, to the parliament of Australia. The critical role … is to make sure that it provides advice to the parliament, across the parliament and, of course, if other groups – for example the one that you’re talking about – seeks advice of the voice, then that’s very positive as well,” she said.

Greens defector Lidia Thorpe, who has undermined the voice for months, urged the government to invite her to meetings with its referendum working and engagement groups.

Asked if she’d dudded Victorians who voted for the Greens only for her to leave the party, Senator Thorpe said: “As a black woman in the political arena, people need to check themselves. If you’re a true ally and you believe in Aboriginal people having a say in this country, then stop demonising me for the decisions that I’m making based on a grassroots collective of sovereign black people.”