Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has again struggled to address concerns about ongoing confusion over the Indigenous vote referendum in parliament.
He claims that those on the far left and far right are “collaborating” to block the move to enshrine the vote in the constitution with the support of the Australian public.
The PM says the campaign is being hijacked by extremists who make distractions and ignore the pleas of the majority Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has again struggled to address concerns about ongoing confusion over the Indigenous vote referendum in parliament.
And on a podcast with The Guardian’s Kathryn Murphy, he gave a staccato answer when he challenged his influence over Indigenous claims to sovereignty.
He said, “This is not about that.” Not everyone is on the same page. This is not a radical proposition. And I said the other day, it’s not a radical proposition.
It’s not surprising that some people are in the radical position, you know, you also have a bunch of attitudes thrown in, which this one wouldn’t advance either.
This will not mean veto power – it will not have veto power. It will not be a funded body, nor will it run programmes.
It also won’t mean that people’s backyards are threatened.
“And so you’ll have people from opposite starting points, but they end up at the same point.”
Liberal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton reiterated his calls for more clarity ahead of the referendum vote
On Monday, Liberal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton repeated his calls for more clarity ahead of the referendum vote on The Voice.
“I think it’s really important for us to get the details in order to understand what the government is proposing, so that Australians can make an informed decision,” he said.
I do not think that this is some kind of radical or unreasonable assumption or some violent departure from what was the case in referendums until the formation of the constitution.
Australians want details about it.
But Mr. Albanese blamed power struggles within rival political parties for deliberately dividing The Voice and diverting attention from its main objective.
The National Party said it would not support The Voice, Aboriginal Senator Lydia Thorpe wants to sign a government treaty with the Aborigines first.
“This is not unusual in civic politics,” said Mr. Albanese. Podcast.
I think there are internal dynamics in the National Party, in the Liberal Party and in the Green Party. In part, what we’re seeing is that their internal mechanisms are at work.
I do not believe that Lydia Thorpe’s views represent the majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people nor do I believe that they represent the majority of Green voters.
Indigenous Senator Lydia Thorpe of the Green Party wants to conclude a government treaty with Indigenous people before submitting the vote to Parliament
All these issues, people looking for — maybe distraction is the wrong word — but there are some people who, either when they’re in a hard right position or a hard left position, come to the same conclusion.
It is clear that they (they) are collaborating about not giving support to what is being proposed by overwhelmingly, you can call it overwhelmingly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations in the run-up to Uluru and since.
Questions raised about The Voice were exaggerated, he insisted, and it was important not to overwhelm voters with too many details.
“That’s one of the furries out there — somehow there’s not enough information,” he said.
The danger with this is that people become overloaded with information. There will be a chance for that to happen.
And he set a timetable for the referendum, with a panel report on The Voice next week after Parliament resumes on Monday.
A working group on the referendum and a constitutional advisory group of lawyers and former Supreme Court justices are also working this week on drafting the referendum.
The prime minister pledged that the legislation, along with drafting the referendum issue, would be tabled in the current session of parliament before the end of March.
“There will (then) be a parliamentary inquiry through which people can make applications to him, which will last at least six weeks,” he said.
And then during the budget sessions starting in May and then in June, you’ll debate and vote on it and hopefully it will pass.
Parliament will have an opinion and every parliamentarian will have an opinion and there will be a parliamentary process to decide a committee that leads to that as well.
Once the legislation has passed Parliament, the referendum must be held in a window beginning at least two months and 33 days later but six months earlier.
Questions raised about The Voice were exaggerated, insisted Anthony Albanese, and it was important not to overwhelm voters with too many details.
“(It will be) between September and December,” he said on the podcast. There is this whole process.
“Of course, we have legal advice on a whole host of questions – and indeed, the wording that’s been asked isn’t words you sat in a room and made up.”
He said that despite the onslaught of criticism, he had not yet heard anyone suggest a better question for the referendum than the one currently being asked.
“What is interesting is that I presented the draft wording in July last year at the Garma Festival,” he said. That’s what people will actually vote for.
I have not yet had any Member of Parliament bring one change to any word that has been put forward.
“I have confidence that when they get into the ballot box the Australian people will vote yes.”
What Anthony Albanese had to say about how sound works
Why should the vote be in the constitution:
The thing that the constitution stipulates is that it ensures that the voice is not canceled or silenced by a change of government or a change of prime minister.
When it works, people will wonder why we didn’t do it before. I see this as analogous to an apology for the stolen generations, the 1967 referendum, or the title of citizen.
On when Australians will know the details:
“We’re going to need a referendum, there’s got to be legislation for that going forward,” he said, “and there’s going to be a debate in Parliament as well. Inevitably, as part of that debate, there’s going to be a discussion about the extensive work of Marcia Langton and Tom Kalma, an extensive discussion, about what that might look like.” Parliament voted in terms of regional structures.
The final report by Professors Marcia Langton and Tom Kalma, submitted to the former Morrison government in July 2021, outlines what sound might sound like.
A certain model has been put forward by them that envisions a national model, but also with equal representation of male and female representatives. Special quarantine of representation to ensure representation of remote communities and regional structure as well… which will be developed during the legislative debate. You will specify, when it is more clear, what the proper date for the referendum should be.
On how the voice relates to parliament:
Do not seek anything higher than parliament. It’s a Parliament thing.
It will be just an advisory group. Parliament remains sovereign.
“People should be consulted on matters that affect them, that’s just good manners.”
