Key advisor Ken Wyatt warns Anthony Albanese to change tack on the voice and provide more detail
Ken Wyatt has issued a stark warning to Anthony Albanese to spell out fundamental details as concerns mount the Yes campaign is ‘losing ground’.
Ken Wyatt, a key adviser to the government on an Indigenous voice to parliament, has issued a stark warning to Anthony Albanese to change tack and spell out fundamental details on the advisory body as concerns mount the Yes campaign is “losing ground”.
The intervention from Mr Wyatt, the first Aboriginal cabinet minister and an Indigenous Australians minister in the Morrison government, follows the latest Newspoll that revealed support for the voice had fallen from 56 per cent at the start of the year to 53 per cent, with more Australians unsure how they would vote at the referendum.
The Coalition also voted against the government’s Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Bill in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, in a blow to supporters of the voice, who wanted to achieve bipartisanship.
Mr Wyatt said he was worried by the Newspoll and he’d been hearing from supporters of the voice, including from some Indigenous Australians, that they needed more detail and were becoming suspicious about why that had not been provided.
“They like the idea, but they just want to know it won’t be a repeat of ATSIC and it’s not a repeat of a parallel bureaucracy,” Mr Wyatt told The Australian.
“My advice now is we need to spell out the infrastructure of the voice, give people more detail so we can reassure them we’re on the right track for the right purpose and with the intention of improving the quality of life for Indigenous Australians.
“People want to know what the regional voice is and how it would work and they want to know how community will be able to have a say.
“They’re concerned about issues being raised by prominent individuals who are Indigenous painting a picture of dysfunction and a large bureaucracy. People want money to go directly to frontline services and to people, not creating more bureaucracy or creating bodies within state and territories governments.”
Mr Wyatt said if the government could outline more details on the voice, it would help boost momentum and the voice’s chances of success because it would “clarify the uncertainty that’s being created”.
No Coalition MP crossed the floor to vote with Labor and the crossbench for the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Bill, which passed the lower house 87-52, despite expectations within the government some Liberals would show their support for the advisory body by doing so.
Marcus Stewart, also a referendum working group member, accused Peter Dutton of “pissing in our pockets” and being “extremely disingenuous” in his dealings on the Indigenous voice to parliament. “Australians woke up to the worst kept secret in politics – the opposition will be voting No,” Mr Stewart said in response to the Coalition’s opposition on the referendum machinery provisions. “For two meetings now, Peter has looked us in the eye while pissing in our pockets and telling us it’s raining. This is extremely disingenuous.”
The Opposition Leader declined to respond to Mr Stewart’s comments.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said there was “still time” for the Liberal Party to support constitutional recognition and the voice, after the Nationals announced their opposition to it last year.
There are growing expectations within the Liberals that the party will form a No position, with some backbenchers free to campaign Yes if they wish.
“The opposition’s only remaining objection (to the machinery provisions) is that the government is not proposing to spend millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money on official ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ campaigns. That is a position the Liberal Party can continue to prosecute without opposing this bill,” Mr Dreyfus said. “I urge members of the opposition to keep an open mind and an open heart when it comes to this referendum.”
As the government’s referendum working group, of which Mr Wyatt is a member, prepares to meet on Thursday to discuss the wording of the constitutional amendment, he said the term “executive government” needed to remain. The draft wording says the voice “may make representations to parliament and the executive government on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.”
Some conservative supporters of the voice argue “executive government” makes the amendment confusing and opens it up to more legal challenges.
“By not having ‘executive government’, it means that ministers are not required to consult with Indigenous people on matters that do impact them directly, on areas such as health, education, training and skills development, which are key areas of any society,” Mr Wyatt said.
Opposition legal affairs spokesman Julian Leeser said as a supporter of the idea of the voice, he was concerned about how it was tracking because of “decisions made by the Prime Minister”. “The lack of good process is undermining public confidence. Good process and more detail will get this referendum back on track,” Mr Leeser said.
“There are two hurdles that must be overcome.
“First, give Australians answers to the questions they are asking about the voice. Second, the government must implement a process for the wording of the referendum amendment.”
The Greens, Jacqui Lambie Network and ACT independent senator David Pocock have indicated support for the Referendum Machinery Bill, giving the government enough support to push it through the Senate.
The Greens are hopeful the government will seriously consider more of its amendments on the referendum machinery bill, as it calls for the donations threshold for both the Yes and No campaigns to be lowered from $15,200 to $1000, real time disclosure and a series of measures to increase participation of Indigenous voters.
There should be on-the-day enrolment, more remote mobile polling booths and the option to vote via the phone, which was available to people with Covid-19 at the 2022 federal election, the Greens say.
Mr Stewart said the Newspoll was “indicative of where we are today” but stressed the referendum was a marathon, not a sprint.
“The voice comes down to the decision of the people, not the pollies. I believe the Australian public will support a First Nations voice,” he said, adding that the Coalition’s demands for changes to the referendum machinery bill were “unreasonable”.
Architects of the Uluru statement from the heart will host a webinar on Wednesday – International Women’s Day – to discuss “tangible impacts” of the voice on Indigenous women.
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