Liberal moderates join push for Indigenous voice referendum
Senior Liberals are uniting around a campaign for the Morrison government to enshrine an Indigenous voice to parliament.
Senior Liberal figures are uniting around a campaign for the Morrison government to enshrine an Indigenous voice to parliament in the Constitution via a referendum in the next term of parliament.
In a challenge to party conservatives and a bid to reclaim the cause of reconciliation on behalf of the Liberals, NSW senator Andrew Bragg is harnessing support from senior MPs with his call for immediate action on the key recommendation of the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart.
The creation of a national voice is the centrepiece of a book being released next week by senator Bragg that has enlisted a heavy-hitting line-up of Liberals in support. They include Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, South Australian Premier Steven Marshall and Indigenous Affairs Minister Ken Wyatt, who will each launch the book in their home cities after its national launch by Rachel Perkins, the daughter of Indigenous activist Charlie Perkins. The book is also being championed by NSW Liberal MP Julian Leeser, who chairs parliament’s standing committee on Indigenous affairs and is urging swifter action on establishing the voice.
Senator Bragg told The Weekend Australian that the adoption of the voice had been stymied by “misrepresentations and falsehoods” and that Australia could not achieve true reconciliation without giving Indigenous people input on the laws governing their lives.
He took aim at what he called a “very damaging” campaign by former Liberal and Nationals leaders Malcolm Turnbull and Barnaby Joyce and the Institute of Public Affairs in disparaging the proposal as a “third chamber”.
The proposal to have an Indigenous advisory body working with the federal parliament was not only modest and conservative but could help shield Australia from the radical politics epitomised by the Black Lives Matter movement.
He said the Morrison government should fast-track the co-design process between government and Indigenous leaders so an agreed version of a national voice as well as local and regional voices could be created after a referendum in the next parliament. “We have to listen to Indigenous people,” Senator Bragg said. “Indigenous people are all saying they don’t want to have some sort of impotent constitutional amendment. They want something that’s going to improve the lives of their people and give them agency and more control. That’s what a voice would do.
“The consternation among some of the Liberals and conservatives has been that you don’t want to undermine the Constitution. This is untrue. It was never designed to be a third chamber. It was designed to give advice on laws and policies affecting Indigenous people.
“If Australia feels the need to have laws affecting Indigenous people — 18 different laws covering everything from land rights and native title to heritage protection — you have to have a special system to manage those laws. That’s not a third chamber, that’s just a system to better manage those laws, and it’s not even binding.”
In his book Buraadja, which means “tomorrow” in the Dhurga language, Senator Bragg charts the history of Liberal achievements on Indigenous affairs including the Menzies government granting the vote to all Aboriginal people in federal and Northern Territory elections in 1962, the Holt government championing the 1967 referendum counting Indigenous people in the census, and the Fraser government’s support for land rights in the 1970s.
The three-part book then examines the present state of Indigenous affairs and finally turns to the future where it advocates the creation of a voice, stops short of backing a treaty, and says January 26 should be retained as Australia Day but argues for the creation of another national day to honour Indigenous heritage and survival.
The process by which the book is being released is designed to maximise attention within Liberal ranks about the need to reclaim ground on reconciliation.
The foreword to the book was written by Scott Morrison, and while the Prime Minister is silent on the question of establishing a voice, he acknowledges the suffering of Indigenous Australians through colonisation and argues that more needs to be done to achieve reconciliation.
“For over two centuries we have perpetuated and suffered from an ingrained way of thinking, and that is the belief we know better than our Indigenous peoples,” Mr Morrison writes.
“We don’t. We also thought we understood the problems facing Indigenous Australians better than they did. We don’t.
“If we are truly to change, then we must address the areas of disadvantage, not from our point of view, but from the viewpoint of Indigenous Australians before we can hope to make a real difference. Unless we do so — our good intentions, our good faith, will continue to amount to little.”
Liberal MP Julian Leeser told The Weekend Australian he hoped the book would advance the cause of establishing a voice.
“Andrew Bragg’s book is a reminder that the Liberal Party has a long history of policy innovation on Indigenous affairs,” he said. “Constitutional recognition and the voice is the next step on the journey.”
Mr Marshall hailed Senator Bragg’s book as “continuing the long and important tradition of Liberals encouraging public debate about reconciliation”.
He said the South Australian government was already pursuing a voice to its parliament in line with the Uluru statement.
“I hope this can be put in place following extensive consultation with our Aboriginal leaders and their communities,” he said. “I share many of Andrew Bragg’s aims in writing his book and I hope it will receive the attention it deserves.”
The federal government’s current position is to keep advancing discussions with Indigenous leaders about a workable model for a voice, but to stop short of enshrining it in the Constitution.
Despite this, Mr Wyatt said he regarded the book as making a valuable contribution to discussion around the issue and was pleased to help launch it.
“Bragg offers an insightful look into the past and invites us all to look at the future of Indigenous affairs policy as well as the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead,” Mr Wyatt said.
He said the government was open to discussions around how best to design and implement a Voice as work continued on the co-design with Indigenous groups.
“The Morrison government wants to ensure the voices of all 800,000 Indigenous Australians can be heard,” Mr Wyatt said.
“The more people that provide their feedback, the greater chance we have to refine the best possible options and set up structures that are successful in the long-term.
“This important first step to define the detail of an Indigenous voice was the first recommendation of the bipartisan 2018 Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples recommendation report.
“In line with the recommendations, the government will consider options for the legal form of the Indigenous voice following conclusion of the co-design work.”
Ms Berejiklian commended the book and said she hoped it would further advance the cause of reconciliation and show Australia more needed to be done.
“I’m proud of Andrew for his passion on matters relating to First Nations people,” she said. “We still have work to do, and the conversation needs to continue.”
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