Ken Wyatt’s warning to Labor on voice

Former Indigenous Australians minister Ken Wyatt has urged Labor to ensure there is a consensus before pushing ahead with a referendum.

Former Indigenous Australians minister Ken Wyatt. Picture: Colin Murty

Former Indigenous Australians minister Ken Wyatt has warned Labor the path to enshrining an Indigenous voice in the Constitution will be difficult, urging the government to ensure there is a consensus before pushing ahead with a referendum.

Mr Wyatt, who lost his seat at the election, will use his first public speech since his defeat to confirm his support for a constitutional change. But the speech, at the WA Mining Club on Wednesday, will warn of the risk of leaving Australia “damaged and divided” if the government and voice supporters do not bring the public with them.

“The challenge faced by the new government is that by ­approaching complex policy and political issues like the Uluru Statement from the Heart as a simple enactment that will be homogeneously embraced, or will result in a universal outcome of equal practical benefit, is shortsighted,” he will say.

“It’s a tough task. Trust me, I’ve been in the middle of the competing stakeholders, viewpoints and political machinations for over a decade.”

The government will need to clearly outline its position – ­including the proposed words for the constitutional change, whether it supports a comprehensively co-designed Indigenous voice and its model for the voice to parliament – sooner rather than later if it is to achieve its goal of a referendum before the next election.

“If they are serious about achieving this within their first term of government, then these need to be outlined early,” Mr Wyatt will say. “Consensus will only be built with all Australians if the government leads with a detailed proposal. Symbolic gestures of goodwill will not pass the strenuous test of a referendum – this is the political reality.”

Mr Wyatt had publicly advocated for the Uluru Statement from the Heart before he became the first Indigenous person to hold the Indigenous portfolio but his progress was stymied by a cabinet known to have serious reservations about the prospect of including an Indigenous voice in the Constitution.

Anthony Albanese this week told The Australian he would put a referendum this term even if the Liberals and Nationals do not formally support it, saying while he would adopt a bipartisan approach he would not give “veto power” to the Coalition.

In something of a swipe at his former party colleagues, Mr Wyatt will say the prospects of the Indigenous voice are brighter under the new government.

“It’s not as simple as Labor is making it out to be, but I do think we will see greater movement and progress towards realising the Uluru Statement from the Heart in the next three years than we would have if the Morrison government had been re-elected,” the speech says.

“That’s not me expressing any regret or reflecting on my former colleagues, it’s just a fact.”

Mr Wyatt will also call for Queensland and his home state of WA to introduce redress schemes for Stolen Generation survivors.