National Farmers Federation remains silent on proposal for the Indigenous voice
The influential National Farmers Federation has opted not to take a position on the Indigenous voice to parliament.
The influential National Farmers Federation has opted not to take a position on the Indigenous voice to parliament.
The NFF, the peak body representing farmers across Australia, has been a prominent voice on native title matters for decades but will not advocate for a specific outcome when Australians vote on the proposal this year.
NFF president Fiona Simson acknowledged the wide variety of perspectives on the issue.
“This is an incredibly important issue on which Australians will have a range of views depending on their own understanding, experiences and circumstances,” Ms Simson said.
The NFF has historically been broadly aligned with the Nationals on many issues and endorsed the Coalition over Labor ahead of last year’s federal election, but has opted not to follow the federal Nationals’ lead and declare its opposition to the referendum.
The decision by the federal arm of the Nationals to say they would be voting against the proposal prompted MP Andrew Gee to quit the party just before Christmas and sit in parliament as an independent. The WA arm of the Nationals – which is the official party of opposition in the state – has also stated its support for the voice proposal.
Instead of advocating for either the yes or no campaign, Ms Simson said the NFF would focus on keeping its members informed about the proposal.
“Our members recognise the shared benefits a strong and collaborative relationship with Indigenous people will bring to Australian agriculture,” she said.
“We will share relevant information with our membership as details become available and continue to progress our engagement.
“We hope the debate on this issue can take place in a respectful and constructive way that brings people together rather than becoming divisive.”
The Liberal Party, meanwhile, is still yet to decide whether to allow its MPs a free vote on the referendum.
Speaking to ABC’s 7.30 on Tuesday, Liberal leader Peter Dutton acknowledged there were a range of views on the voice within the party room.
“I understand that there are strongly held views and people with good intent who draw different conclusions in relation to the voice,” he said.
“I‘m not going to circumvent or pre-empt what the decision of the party room would be.
“I have great respect for my colleagues, we’ll have the debate, we’ll make a decision in the party room and we’ll announce that in due course.”
Mr Dutton this week released a letter detailing the 15 questions about the voice that he said needed to be answered about how the body would function.
That sparked a defence of the plan from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who warned that a rejection of the referendum would hurt the reconciliation process and damage Australia’s international reputation.
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