A key architect of the Uluru Statement from the Heart criticized Anthony Albanese for not leaving the Voice when it became clear the referendum would fail.
Ahead of the first anniversary of the Voice referendum on October 14, constitutional law expert Professor Megan Davis said she was open to the idea of abandoning it altogether after the extent of its unpopularity became clear in polls.
“If the Prime Minister and others had really definitive information that he was going to lose, we were concerned about why he would proceed, given that it was clear that we did not have enough time to process the case,” Professor Davis told the The ABC connoisseurs.
The Voice of Parliament, which would have altered the Australian constitution by creating a body to consult on laws affecting indigenous people, was overwhelmingly defeated.
Nationally, 60 per cent of people voted no, and it was rejected by every state and territory except the ACT.
Professor Davis went on to say that it would be a electoral promise unfulfilled if the Albanian government did not create a Makarrata Commission.
The role of the Makarrata Commission would be to undertake a process of agreement-making and truth-seeking that would ultimately lead to a treaty.
When it became clear that the Voice was unlikely to be approved, Professor Davis said her mind began to ponder whether it was worth pursuing or not.
Megan Davis (left) said she was open to the idea of leaving Voice after she was unpopular on ABC’s Insiders podcast on Friday.
Teacher Davis said he did not have enough time to “educate the Australian people” about “this decade-long multi-party advocacy process for constitutional recognition”.
He added that if his relationship with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had been stronger, he might have asked him to abandon the vote.
“I would have been willing to participate in that discussion. “Referendums can expire, and I think there could have been better coordinated conversations about that,” he said.
“I know there were leaders deeply concerned about continuing if … they had such definitive information that it was going to fail.”
Ms Davis still believes in the Voice’s values but claims misinformation played a major role in its downfall and has called for legislation to be introduced to counter “Trumpian” lies.
In a speech at the University of New South Wales, Professor Davis also took aim at the ABC for its “false equivalence” in broadcasting interviews with Yes and No activists.
“The ABC was constantly sending emails to all Aboriginal staff at UNSW saying ‘we are desperately looking for a La Perouse No activist, can someone find us one please because we have this debate coming up?'” he said, according to to The Australian.
Professor Davis added that if her relationship had been stronger with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, she might have asked him to abandon the vote (the two are pictured together).
‘We have to do this whole ABC interaction on the basis of the most ridiculous arguments that were not even plausible legal arguments, but simply because they wanted this balance.
‘When we got to the last six weeks, commercial television wasn’t even showing Yes (activists). Unless No nominated someone, unless Advance (featured an interviewee), they wouldn’t nominate someone from the Yes campaign.’
Professor Davis also expressed concern that Albanese would go back on his promise to implement the Makarrata Commission.
In the Uluru Declaration, signatories called on parliament to implement Voice before launching a Makarrata Commission to ensure their message was conveyed.
Davis went on to say that it would be a broken election promise if the Albanian government did not introduce a Makarrata Commission.
At this year’s Garma festival, Albanese said Makarrata means “to come together after a fight,” but critics have criticized his definition of the word.
Professor Davis said she did not know exactly what the government’s position on the commission was, but said it was “part of their election platform”.
“So, you know, that would be a broken election promise,” he said.
“Presumably they have said that they don’t think they can process that with the current opposition and that they will leave it for the next term.”
Yes campaign director Dean Parkin said there was a clear difference between a “commitment to Makarrata and a commitment to a Makarrata Commission”.
He admitted he was unaware of the government’s current position on the commission, but noted it remained a priority within Labor Party policy.
Ms Parkin noted that the commission had attended the Labor Party’s policy conference and was part of its election platform.
If the party did not institute a Makarrata Commission, it would amount to a broken election promise, Parkin said.
He said it was “actually a very dangerous thing” for Labor to enshrine the promise solely in any kind of symbolic recognition.
Mrs Parkin also criticized Senator Fatima Payman’s party launched this week which adopted the use of “voice” in its namesake.
Senator Payman launched the Australia’s Voice party, which Ms Parkin called ““extraordinarily insensitive,” especially close to the anniversary of The Voice’s defeat.
The senator, however, dismissed the controversy and said she “doesn’t see why” her party’s name became an issue since “the word ‘voice’ is not a registered trademark.”