WA Nationals backflip on voice, join federal party’s No push

WA Nats leader Shane Love confirmed his support for the voice as recently as April but has fallen in line with the federal party on the issue.

WA Nationals leader Shane Love announces the decision the party will not support the voice.

The West Australian Nationals have fallen in line with the federal party on the Indigenous voice to parliament, backflipping on earlier support for the proposal.

WA Nationals leader Shane Love, who is also the WA opposition leader, had confirmed his support as recently as April for the proposal to amend the constitution with words guaranteeing the existence of an advisory body with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members.

National leader David Littleproud and Nationals Senator for Victoria Bridget McKenzie were in the room for the vote at the state party’s conference at the Vines Resort in the Swan Valley, a winemaking region on the northeastern outskirts of Perth.

The WA Nationals’ state conference carried the motion: “That this State Convention of the Nationals WA does not support the constitutional amendment as proposed by the Federal Labor Government for the 2024 ‘Voice’ referendum.”

The WA Nationals’ supported the Uluru Statement from the Heart and its call for a voice under previous leader Mia Davies. Her predecessor Brendon Grylls is also a voice supporter.

However, the WA Nationals have come under pressure to revise their position on the voice after a campaign by the state Pastoral and Graziers Association to frame unpopular state Aboriginal cultural heritage laws as a sign of things to come if the voice referendum succeeded. New WA premier Roger Cook dumped the laws this month, describing them as too onerous for landowners.

The WA Nationals have also been influenced by the federal party’s stance. Mr Littleproud has taken an even harder line than Opposition leader Peter Dutton, who opposes a national voice but supports legislating local and regional Indigenous voices that could give advice on local and regional issues. Mr Littleproud has expressed concerns about regional voices.

“The National Party of Australia does not trust the Labor Party to get this right,” Mr Love said after the vote.

The WA Nationals’ about face on the voice means they are now also in sync with the WA Liberals. This could smooth the path to a formal coalition between the much-depleted state parties as they look for ways to claw back seats. Between them they have just six MPs in the WA lower house between – four Nationals and two Liberals. WA Labor has a thumping majority in both houses.

Ms Davies, who stepped down as WA Nationals leader in January citing fatigue, said she respected the state conference’s decision but she continued to believe the voice was sound and in line with her party’s beliefs about good government. Ms Davies is the member for the central wheatbelt of WA, where most of the state’s crops are grown.

“I am a member of the party because we fundamentally believe that including the people and communities we make decisions about in the process of developing legislation, funding programs, and infrastructure projects gets a better outcome for those communities and the taxpayer,” Ms Davies said.

“It’s a sound policy and philosophy to create a framework for advice to our parliament to assist in decisions that will go toward improving the lives and future of first nations people who have experienced decades of policy created for and about them that has effectively marginalised and diminished their opportunity to thrive.

“With political and community goodwill, I believe the Voice could play a part in shifting the dial on the issues we discuss so often – health outcomes, education attainment, suicide rates, and over-representation in the criminal justice system.

“It will not be a silver bullet, but it can be the start of a different conversation with our first nation people about our nation’s future.”