Wyatt slams ‘mythology’ on Coalition’s Indigenous agenda

Indigenous Australians Minister says it’s wrong to suggest Coalition governments are not proactive on Aboriginal affairs.

Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt. Picture: Katrina Bridgeford.

Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt has hit out at the “mythology” that Coalition governments are not proactive on Aboriginal affairs, declaring the conservative side of politics “quietly get on” with key reforms in the sector.

Mr Wyatt defended the history of the Coalition on Indigenous issues in Parliament House in Canberra as he launched a book by Liberal senator Andrew Bragg, who is calling for a referendum on an Indigenous “voice to parliament” in the next term of government.

Mr Wyatt said it was wrong to suggest Coalition governments did not take Indigenous issues seriously, noting the 1967 referendum to include Aboriginal people in the census was championed by the Holt government despite being controversial at the time.

“I remember reading some of the things that were reported in both the West Australian and daily news which existed then and thought that the referendum wouldn’t get up. And when the result came in, it was resounding,” Mr Wyatt said.

“And what I like about your book, you tackle some of the mythology to do with Coalition governments: that we’re not the party that is seen as being proactive in Indigenous affairs — but we are and how history shows that.

“But what we tend to do is quietly get on with it, we don’t bestowal what we’ve achieved.”

Mr Wyatt, who is pushing to legislate a “voice to government” that would act as an advisory body on Indigenous issues, said there was growing community support for policies that tackle the disadvantages faced by Aboriginal people.

“There is an undercurrent in Australian society now that is looking at many issues to do with Indigenous Australians in a way that I’ve never seen before. The time has changed. The mood has changed significantly,” Mr Wyatt said.

“What we’ve done through the solid history of the Coalition is we’ve reached a point now where we have a national agreement that is negotiated with 51 peak organisations.

“And the Closing the Gap partnership is also done in a tripartite manner between ministers of Indigenous affairs and their officials, and 51 peak organisations in the commonwealth.

“And we’ve not done this before. This is one of the most far reaching agreements that I’ve seen negotiated by our people.”

Senator Bragg’s book, Buraadja, argues the adoption of the full recommendations from the Uluru Statement from the Heart had been stymied by “misrepresentations and falsehoods” and Australia could not achieve true reconciliation without giving Indigenous people input on the laws governing their lives.

Scott Morrison has ruled out holding a referendum to enshrine an Indigenous voice in the constitution.

“Our Constitution should make reference to the 60,000 years of Indigenous occupation,” Senator Bragg said at the book launch in Canberra on Thursday.

“I believe this should include an obligation on the commonwealth to engage with Indigenous people; an obligation to ensure Indigenous voices are heard, especially as we make special laws.

“It is possible to anchor a commitment to hearing Indigenous voices in the constitution,

as called for in the Uluru Statement, without establishing any new illiberal institutions in

the constitution.”