The New South Wales Premier’s office is hiring an executive to push for “truth and healing” in the state, despite Australians voting overwhelmingly against Voice to Parliament.
The position is reserved for Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander candidates only, and requires a salary of up to $339,000 for the right person.
The position, which was only announced after the referendum defeat, says the winning candidate will be “responsible for enshrining the Aboriginal voice in the strategies, plans and programmes” of the government.
“This role will focus on leading truth-telling to integrate healing and celebrate culture.”
The taxpayer-funded senior role will be tasked with “developing an incubator team for future reform initiatives” around “truth, treaty and voice”.
Truth, treaty and voice are the three pillars of the Uluru Declaration from the Heart.
While the Voice was seen as the first way forward, the ‘culmination of the agenda’ is actually the development of treaties and truth-telling mechanisms.
The New South Wales Premier’s office is recruiting an executive director to lead the government on “truth and healing” following the failed Voice to Parliament referendum.
The position is reserved for Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander candidates only and requires a salary of up to $339,000.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has now been accused by Prue MacSween of trying to “implement this by stealth”, against the wishes of the Australian public.
‘New South Wales’ resounding NO vote sent a strong message. “Minns decides to ignore it and sneak it in,” she said.
New South Wales Nationals leader Dugald Saunders told 2GB’s Ben Fordham he only found out about the position when the program alerted him on Thursday, saying it seemed like a particularly short recruiting window.
Later, speaking to Daily Mail Australia, he said: ‘To do it now, it hasn’t even been a month since the referendum.
“It seems to be a very early measure when there are people struggling to pay their mortgage.”
‘It’s just a misinterpretation of the room. Almost no one wants to talk about the Voice anymore, so why do it now? “It’s a huge own goal.”
The job offer was published on October 20 and closes on November 12.
Only 39 per cent of Australians voted in favor of establishing an Indigenous Voice in Parliament.
One of the most important factors in voting against the proposal were fears about treaties and truth, which many Australians feared would lead to the renaming of streets and suburbs and payments to indigenous Australians.
Saunders warned that the short application period could indicate the department “had people in mind” for the role, noting the salary would be higher than what some ministers in the Minns administration earn.
Australians went to the polls on October 14 and voted against a voice in the constitution by 61 per cent to 39 per cent.
Truth, treaty and voice are the three pillars of the Uluru Declaration from the Heart. While the Voice was seen as the first way forward, the ‘culmination of the agenda’ is actually the development of treaties and truth-telling mechanisms.
“It’s a very strange time to appoint an Executive Director for Truth and Healing when we just had a referendum that was a very definitive answer,” he said.
“The prime minister has not mentioned anything about it.
‘At the moment, cost of living is everything. Telling the truth and healing, at the moment, is not what we should focus on.’
READ MORE: The five-point treatise and Lidia Thorpe’s vision of truth
In August, a similar job advert from the Victorian government and revealed exclusively by Daily Mail Australia sparked outrage, and a warning shot from Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price that the high salary could be an indicator of what was to come with the Voice committee .
The position, deputy secretary of the First Peoples’ State Relations Group, would provide executive leadership and strategy to the Victorian government to create practical solutions to emerging policy issues.
Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander people were strongly urged to apply for the position, which will have a fixed term of up to five years.
Then-Premier Dan Andrews’ department announced a role that would help promote treaties and truth in Victoria with a huge remuneration package of up to $533,431.
The position (First Peoples State Relations Group Deputy Secretary) would provide executive leadership and strategy to the Victorian Government to create practical solutions to emerging policy issues.
The announcement described the job as an “exciting opportunity to be part of progress related to First Peoples’ cultural rights, territorial justice, self-determination, treaties and truth.”
The successful candidate would earn a total compensation package between $410,018 and $533,431, depending on experience and negotiations.
Victoria is relatively advanced in discussions on the treaty, the most advanced in Australia after beginning the formal process in 2016.
Still, insiders say the state is at least 10 years away from finalizing any treaty or reaching a resolution.