Opposition leader Peter Dutton has announced the Liberal Party will campaign against prime minister Anthony Albanese’s Indigenous Voice to Parliament because it’s not in Australia’s ‘best interests’.
Dutton slammed Albanese’s constitutionally enshrined Voice, which he dubbed the ‘Canberra Voice’, and instead said his party will support the formation of ‘local and regional’ Voice-style bodies during a press conference on Wednesday.
The announcement followed a two-hour meeting in Canberra earlier the same day where the Liberal Party held a vote to decide its offical approach to the Voice.
‘The Liberal Party resolved today to say yes to constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians and yes to a local and regional bodies so we can get practical outcomes for Indigenous people,’ Dutton said in what is a brave move by the Opposition leader.
‘There was a resounding “No” to the Prime Minister’s “Canberra Voice”. It should be very clear to Australians by now the Prime Minister is dividing the country and the Liberal Party seeks to unite the country.
‘Having a Canberra Voice won’t resolve the issues on the ground for Indigenous communities.’
Opposition leader Peter Dutton (above) announced his Liberal Party will campaign against Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament
Under Albanese’s proposed model, the Voice will make representations to both Parliament and executive government on issues that affect Indigenous Australians.
Australian citizens will be asked to either approve or reject the Voice to Parliament at a referendum slated to be held in October.
Dutton said his party will rally Australians to vote against the Voice and urged Labor to be more open about its policies regarding the proposed body.
‘I don’t think this is in our country’s best interest,’ he said.
‘I have spent literally months, like many Australians, trying to understand what it is the prime minister is proposing.
‘We cannot get the basic detail out of them.
‘The fear with the Voice is it changes our system of government forever and we end up with no practical benefit to people in Indigenous communities.’
Dutton also announced the Liberal Party would be willing to compromise and work with Labor to find an improved wording for the proposed constitutional amendment.
‘The Prime Minister has so far changed the wording to be put to the Australian people on three occasions,’ he said.
‘The latest version was against the advice of the Solicitor-General and the Attorney General. It’s clear he’s not going to change the wording of that proposal.’
While Liberal backbenchers will be free to advocate their own opinion on the Voice, as per the party’s usual policy, frontbenchers – like Shadow Indigenous Minister Julian Leeser – will be required to stick with the offical party position.
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Albanese (above) told reporters in Canberra ‘Peter Dutton has, with every utterance, sought to undermine support for a “Yes” vote at the referendum’ and defended the Voice as a ‘modest proposal’
Labor Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney responded to the Liberals’ position shortly after Dutton’s conference ended.
‘Mr Dutton’s criticism is predictable,’ she told a press conference.
‘Despite his obsession with the prime minister, this is not about politics.
‘This is about closing the gap… A 2023 referendum will unite Australia, bring people together and move Australia forward for a better future.’
Burney also called out Dutton’s proposal of regional Voices as ‘misleading’.
‘The Labor Government supports regional Voices. Regional Voices ahve already been rolled out in places like South Australia and Victoria where great progress is being made,’ she said.
‘A national Voice will make sure Voices in remote and regional areas are heard and it’s misleading for Mr Dutton to suggest otherwise.’
The Indigenous Minister also called out Dutton’s claims a Voice to Parliament would see no ‘practical’ change ‘on the ground’.
‘Our guiding principle has always been the Uluru Statement from the Heart which came from regional dialogue with thousands of First Nations people about constitutional recognition,’ she said.
‘Recognition makes practical change on the ground.
‘Mr Dutton is tying himself in knots… [His position] is as clear as mud.’
Earlier on Wednesday, Albanese commented on Dutton’s position, saying: ‘[Peter Dutton] has, with every utterance, sought to undermine support for a “Yes” vote at the referendum… I wish that wasn’t the case.’
He also said calls from the Liberal Party to delay a referendum on an Indigenous Voice were absurd.
‘This is a nation-building effort and I call upon everyone to support it,’ Albanese told reporters in Canberra.
‘This is not controversial and should not be an issue of partisan politics. It’s a modest proposal.
‘The idea that you can simply ignore or dismiss the views of the referendum working group in my view contradicts the very concept of a voice which is about listening.’
The Leader of The Nationals David Littleproud announced in November his party would oppose the Voice while the Greens announced its support in February.
