This Indigenous MP thinks a Voice referendum will fail

Senator Lidia Thorpe thinks a Treaty should come before a Voice. Here's why. 

And Senator Lidia Thorpe isn't unhappy about it. Here's why.

Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe is convinced the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum will fail.

She believes Aboriginal people will actively campaign against a Voice being enshrined in the Constitution.

So much so, that a referendum will never succeed.

“I’ve just got too many activists around the country that are preparing campaigns (against a Voice),” she told The Oz.

“Like, they’re going to go hard.”

In the next three years, we will vote on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, which would see a group of Aboriginal people chosen to guide parliament on laws that directly affect them.

The Voice is a central part of the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart; a document written and signed by Aboriginal leaders who hope to increase the legal recognition of Indigenous people.

The Uluru Statement sets out to achieve three things: Voice, Treaty and Truth. And they must be in that order.

Lidia Thorpe is the first Indigenous person to represent the Greens in the Senate.

But Thorpe believes a Treaty between the Australian government and Indigenous people should come before a Voice, and does not want to see a Voice enshrined in the "colonial" Constitution.

“There has never been any agreement with First Nations people of this country for any system or structure set up on our land… there has just been an invasion and genocide," she said.

If a Treaty was created, the government would recognise the prior occupation of Australia, as well as injustices Aboriginal people have endured. It could also see Indigenous people granted sovereignty (that is, power) over their own people, and self-determination (that is, the ability to make decisions for themselves outside of government).

“It isn’t just about symbolism, it’s about real, tangible outcomes for Indigenous people,” Thorpe said. “A Treaty is like the umpire that sits the Queen (the government) down with the First people and says, okay, you guys are arguing over who's sovereign? How about, we share the sovereignty.”

Thorpe has also been outspoken about her desire for the Australian flag to be changed because it "represents a colonial invasion, which massacred and murdered thousands of Aboriginal women, men and children”.

She is in favour of Australia becoming a Republic, and cutting ties with the British monarchy to "become our own country".

When The Oz asked Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney what she thought of a Treaty, she said she was supportive, but a Voice must come first. 

“I am very supportive of a treaty, but they take a long time to negotiate. They are not things that can be done in 12 months or two years or three years,” she said.

“The most recent contemporary treaty that I'm aware of was in British Columbia and that took something like I think it was 13 years to negotiate. I would hate to say Treaty first then Voice because that pushed the Voice off into a very, very distant distance.”

While Thorpe does not agree with the Voice, the Greens will not oppose the referendum when it comes.

This is good news for Labor, as it will be difficult to get the referendum over the line without support form the Greens and the Liberal-National party.

Liberal leader Peter Dutton said his party are waiting the see the details surrounding a Voice (which should come before Christmas) before they state their position. 

On Monday, while addressing the Labor caucus (like their team meeting) before the commencement of the parliamentary sitting week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese committed, on behalf of the government, to the Uluru Statement from the Heart "in full".

"We'll have more to say about that at the Garma Festival that I'll be attending [this weekend], along with many members of the team...that will be an important event," Albanese said.