Tasmanian Aboriginal leader Rodney Dillon says Australia capable of ‘mature’ Voice debate
With a referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament looming, one Tasmanian Aboriginal leader says he believes Australians are ready to debate the issue in a mature way.
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Australians are capable of a “mature” debate about an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, Tasmanian Aboriginal community leader Rodney Dillon says.
Mr Dillon is a member of the Referendum Working Group of First Nations Australians, established and chaired by federal Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney.
“(Indigenous people) have been asking for these changes to the Constitution and a Voice to Parliament … for years,” Mr Dillon said. “And it’s been falling on deaf ears.”
“For Australia to come together and mature as a country and say, ‘Yes, we think this is important’, I think that’s very important, not only for the politicians but for Australia to be mature.”
The working group, which met for the first time in Canberra last Friday, has been tasked with determining the next steps on the pathway to a referendum to determine whether an Indigenous Voice to Parliament should be enshrined in the Australian Constitution.
Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre president Graeme Gardner has left the group, saying he was frustrated that the referendum process was “predetermined” and believed treaty and truth-telling should take precedence over the Voice.
“I’m comfortable with my decision,” Mr Gardner said. “I’m not alone on this one. I sought opinions to make sure I knew I was doing the right thing.”
Mr Gardner said he believed the majority of Aboriginal Tasmanians would share his view on the Voice.
An Indigenous Voice to Parliament would be a constitutional body enabling Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to provide advice to the Commonwealth government on policies that would impact their lives.
A referendum is expected to be held in the 2023-24 financial year.
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