SA Liberals threaten repeal ahead of historic Indigenous Voice address
SA’s Voice is set to make its inaugural presentation to state parliament — the first of its kind in Australia. But the legislation, giving Indigenous leaders the right to address cabinet and departmental chiefs, has already sparked backlash.
South Australia’s Indigenous Voice will make its inaugural formal presentation to state parliament on Wednesday in what will be the first such address ever made before an Australian parliament.
But the South Australian Liberals are saying it should be the last and are threatening to repeal the legislation which gives SA elected Indigenous leaders the right to address not just state parliament but also state cabinet and departmental chiefs on issues of concern to Aboriginal people.
A special joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament will be held in the SA Legislative Assembly at 11am on Wednesday where State Voice presiding officer and indigenous health professional Leeroy Bilney from the SA West Coast city of Ceduna will speak on behalf of Aboriginal South Australians.
His address comes after a troubled month for the SA Voice with four of its elected representatives having suddenly resigned and continuing concerns over low voter turnout fuelling claims that the organisation lacks the standing to address parliament and cabinet.
Attorney-General and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Kyam Maher said that while the Voice had experienced some “teething problems” in its first year he was confident South Australians would see its benefits now it was up and running.
He said the Voice delegates had already addressed State Cabinet and had meetings with public service department chiefs and given advice sought by the SA Government on legislation that had particularly relevance to indigenous South Australians.
Mr Maher said the address on Wednesday was the Voice’s chance to raise any issues as its members saw fit.
“They will address our state parliament talking about whatever they want to talk about, letting parliament know what their issues of concern are for Aboriginal people, and what they want us to concentrate on,” he said.
“In terms of an address by a representative Voice that can address on any issues of concern to them, I believe this is the first time we will see that in this sort of joint sitting.”
Mr Maher said he understood the qualms voters had about the state Voice given that South Australia voted so resoundingly against the Federal Voice at last year’s referendum.
But he said the SA model – an election promise made by Peter Malinauskas and SA Labor well ahead of its 2022 election win – had already been legislated before the referendum was held.
“I can understand people’s concerns,” Mr Maher said. “We had the referendum and people spoke loud and clear about changing our Constitution to enshrine in our Constitution a body that has some similar functions to what our state body does.
“But this was a commitment that we took to the election. The difference with what we have got in SA is that this was set up by legislation and that happened well before the referendum. So if we need to make changes, or it needs to work differently, we can do that. We can make those changes and tinker with that.
“I can understand a lot of people’s concerns when you change the Constitution the only way to make changes then is via another referendum. But that’s why this is different. I am almost certain there are things we will want to change in the future and we can do that just by an act of Parliament.”
SA Opposition Leader Vincent Tarzia said he remained unconvinced and that while the Liberals would attend the Joint Sitting out of “respect” they would not guarantee the continuation of the Voice if elected in 2026.
Mr Tarzia said all the Voice had provided so far was “grand statements and virtue signalling” and that pursuing it jarred with the public sentiments shown by the referendum, with the highest no vote in Australia cast in the working class northern Adelaide electorate of Spence.
“I certainly remain sceptical about how this is going to improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in terms of standards of living health care and education,” Mr Tarzia said.
“Let’s not forget the recent referendum where South Australians voted overwhelmingly against the Voice to parliament. Not one single federal electorate here supported Labor’s proposal.
“The state process was rushed, the model was flawed. We have already seen some resignations. We know the turnout for the vote was extremely low. I will be attending out of respect tomorrow but I remain highly, highly sceptical.
“We will be watching this very, very closely and if it is not working we certainly will be more than willing to amend its operation or if we need to look at abolishing it entirely.”
Other MPs including independent MLC Frank Pangallo have raised concerns about how many SA Voice delegates are employed by the public service and whether having them advise government presents potential conflicts of interest.
The low turnout at the elections earlier this year remains a key problem for the SA Voice’s credibility where less than 10 per cent of the state’s estimated 30,000-strong Indigenous population voted earlier this year.
The turnout of 2583 voters resulting in some paltry results where of the 46 successful Voice candidates 12 polled fewer than 20 first-preference votes.
Mr Maher said the turnout was comparable to past ATSIC elections and also for the First People’s Assembly of Victoria which advises the Victorian Government on Treaty issues.
“We had elections on the far north west of the state right on the WA/NT border, right down to Mt Gambier and all points in between, so there are challenges,” he said.
“There is no doubt challenges have arisen which you just can’t foresee when it is the first time in Australia that you set up something like this.”
More Coverage
Packer: ‘nurse footage beyond imagination’
James Packer says footage of two Sydney nurses threatening to kill Israeli patients is ‘beyond imagination’.
Trad’s job pick secret revealed
Former Labor deputy premier Jackie Trad ‘inappropriately interfered’ with a government selection process to hand-pick her own under-treasurer, a secret report by Queensland’s corruption watchdog has found.