Indigenous voice to parliament: Labor hits pause on treaty and truth telling

Richard Marles retreats from his commitment to the Uluru Statement from the Heart, as Labor refuses to endorse its election pledge.

Anthony Albanese in Parliament House hours after the emphatic No vote at the voice referendum was revealed. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has retreated from his post-referendum commitment to the Uluru Statement from the Heart, as Labor refuses to endorse its election pledge on treaty and truth-telling.

Under pressure from the Coalition and Greens, Anthony Albanese and Mr Marles on Tuesday would not re-commit to Labor’s $27m election promise to establish a Makarrata commission overseeing treaty-making and truth-telling processes.

Following the crushing referendum defeat, Mr Marles on the weekend declared the government had “made clear we support the Uluru Statement from the Heart and (truth-telling) is part of it”.

“The principal commitment to everything that’s contained in there we have made and we don’t move away from,” Mr Marles told the ABC on Sunday.

Government sources have since confirmed that treaty and truth-telling commitments were under review pending consultation with Indigenous leaders following their week of silence.

Asked in Question Time on Tuesday whether the government would proceed with implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full, Mr Marles watered down his previous ­comments.

“In the light of what has occurred over the course of the weekend, we have made clear that we hear the voice of the Australian people and that the pursuit of reconciliation (and) Closing the Gap is no longer going to be achieved through constitutional reform,” Mr Marles said.

“We are going to take what Indigenous Australians have said in the aftermath of the last weekend and that is allow time for the dust to settle and we will work with them about how we can best, as a nation, achieve the objective of Closing the Gap and pursuing reconciliation.”

Peter Dutton earlier demanded the Prime Minister “come clean” on whether the government remains committed to establishing a Makarrata commission. Warning that next steps on reconciliation won’t be finalised over days, Mr Albanese said the Uluru Statement from the Heart – which asks for voice, treaty and truth – was developed over decades and a “new path” forward would be devised in a considered and constructive way.

“We accepted the invitation from First Nations people, which was given in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, to invite Australians to walk with them on the path that they had requested. We did that. That was not given the support in the referendum and therefore we have to find a new path,” Mr Albanese said.

The government is reviewing Labor’s commitment to a Makarrata commission after the resounding No vote amid pressure from Indigenous leaders, the Greens and crossbenchers to prioritise truth-telling.

Greens First Nations spokeswoman Dorinda Cox, an Indigenous woman whose party wants a $250m truth and justice commission and progress towards treaties, told Mr Albanese: “Don’t abandon us, because you set us up and you committed to this in full.”

In a Coalition partyroom meeting on Tuesday, Mr Dutton told MPs Mr Albanese should declare his position on treaty and truth-telling given he said 34 times during the referendum campaign the Uluru Statement should be implemented in full.

In Question Time, Mr Dutton referred to a 2021 quote from Mr Albanese in which he said: “There can be no real progress on Closing the Gap and there can be no ­reconciliation without treaty and truth-telling.”

Mr Dutton asked: “Will the Prime Minister be honest and upfront with Australians and inform the house whether or not he remains committed to a treaty and truth-telling process?”

Mr Albanese said he would “give respect to Indigenous Australians who have asked for a week to consider their position”.

“I think that is pretty reasonable that we then have a process of consultation,” he said.