Greens leader Adam Bandt is calling on the federal government to invest in a truth and justice commission following the failure of the Voice referendum.
Speaking to media today, he said the proposed commission would support local truth-telling processes and limit misinformation circulating, as he believed occurred amid the referendum campaign.
Bandt took aim at Opposition Leader Peter Dutton for his campaigning against the referendum, and said there was an “urgent need for truth-telling and healing”.
“Peter Dutton ran a Trumpian campaign of misinformation and fear that has the potential to set back reconciliation in this country unless we address it,” Bandt told reporters.
“Dutton is the master of misinformation.”
The Greens leader urged the federal government to commit $250 million to a truth and justice commission.
“There’s no need for delay and we can’t leave the country without a clear pathway forward,” Bandt said.
“A national truth and justice commission would bring everyone together to talk honestly about the violence and dispossession of First Nations peoples so we can heal and move forward together.”
Opposition leader Peter Dutton earlier told media it had been a good result for the country last night.
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“What matters is that we all accept the result in this great spirit of our democracy,” he said.
“This is the referendum that Australia did not need to have. The proposal and the process should have been designed to unite Australia, not to divide us”.
In pictures: Australia votes on Voice to parliament referendum
Meanwhile, Victorian Indigenous leaders said the referendum would leave a lasting impact.
First Peoples Assembly of Victoria member Aunty Esme Bamblett said the result “hurt”, but that progress had been made in some areas.
“We’ve been here for thousands of years and we’re not going anywhere. We are still strong, resilient and deadly,” she said.
“Give us a week or so to mourn, give us some time and we’ll get up and we’ll go again.
“Here in Victoria, we’re getting making great progress in the treaty… That’s what we’re focused on and we’re going to get the job done.”
