Flynn MP Colin Boyce says Indigenous voice will divide nation
Following an announcement The Nationals will formally oppose an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, Colin Boyce has expanded on why he will vote no in an upcoming referendum.
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Central Queenslanders have not been consulted in the Indigenous Voice campaign, according to the Flynn MP, but a local principal says Mr Boyce has not engaged with local First Nations leaders either.
Flynn MP Colin Boyce has this week outlined why he will not support a future referendum on an Indigenous Voice to parliament, stating he “will not divide this nation purely based on race”.
Following an announcement by his party room that the Nationals will oppose the government’s proposed Indigenous Voice, Mr Boyce claims he has spoken to community representatives across the vast Flynn electorate and most of them have barely heard about it.
“On all occasions all of them told me they weren’t really aware of it, they didn’t know what it meant, and they didn’t understand it,” Mr Boyce said.
“We have communities who are very disadvantaged in terms of work and health issues, and domestic violence, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse.
“We need to move forward as a nation as a whole and approach these problems with pragmatic reality and practical outcomes instead of having buildings full of people continually writing reports.”
Mr Boyce said if the Constitution was changed and the proposed body did not work, it would be “very difficult” to change things back.
However, a local school principal said he felt compelled to respond to Mr Boyce’s “hard no stance” due to a lack of consultancy with his own electorate.
Birri Gubba man Preston Parter is the principal at Eidsvold State School which several years ago implemented a program to revive the local Wakka Wakka language.
Mr Parter believes his community’s perspective is important to the wider education sector and the school’s multi-award status has been achieved through Indigenous voice and leadership.
“For well-educated, strategic, First Nations people of our region, it made no sense that our local member would listen to the opinion of someone from Alice Springs and take that as gospel,” Mr Parter said, referring to Northern Territory Senator, Jacinta Price.
“This not only shows Colin’s inexperience to understand our people as unique but also an inability to open up local dialogue with First Nation representatives here.
“Just because our mob aren’t aware of the intricacies around the voice to parliament yet, doesn’t mean that a no campaign is the best option – it means that a better understanding of what this might look like needs to be communicated to our unique communities for them to make a concerted decision.”
Eidsvold State School, located in the North Burnett Region, is attended by about 120 students who are predominantly Indigenous.
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Originally published as Flynn MP Colin Boyce says Indigenous voice will divide nation
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