Albanese blast for ‘absurd’ scare campaigns on voice
Andrew Brown and Rudi Maxwell |
Australians will judge Opposition Leader Peter Dutton for wallowing in negativity about the Indigenous voice, the prime minister says.
Anthony Albanese has asserted legal advice surrounding the voice was clear, labelling claims about the body by the opposition as absurd scare campaigns.
The prime minister said legal advice from the solicitor-general on the voice would be released in due course, following concerns from the coalition about the body.
“Peter Dutton can continue to wallow in his negativity, I think that Australians will judge him for that,” Mr Albanese said on Tuesday.
“There’s been no participation in good faith, the National Party didn’t even wait to find out what the question was before they decided they were against it, and that’s the nature of the ‘noalition’ that we’re dealing with.”
It follows Mr Dutton appointing prominent ‘no’ campaigner for the voice Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to the role of opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman.
The appointment was made after the previous spokesman for the portfolio, Julian Leeser, resigned because of his support for the voice being at odds with the party position.
The opposition leader has doubled down on describing the voice as a body for elites and another bureaucracy.
The Liberal Party has called for a legislated, but not constitutionally enshrined, voice process involving representative local and regional bodies.
“There are a lot of reasons why when Australians start to take an interest in the voice, that they will decide not to support it,” Mr Dutton said.
“We’ve been clear, we don’t want an elitist model, which is what the prime minister is proposing. It’s a Canberra voice, it’s not going to represent the views of those local communities.”
Mr Dutton said the Liberal proposal for the voice would unite the country.
The prime minister said he had made it clear there would be local and regional bodies, which may differ across states and territories.
He pointed to South Australia’s decision to set up a state voice.
Referendum working group and Uluru Dialogue member Marcus Stewart said the notion that the voice was some sort of Canberra-based idea was “wilful misinformation”.
“First Nations Peoples from across Australia have asked Australians to give them a voice … because they know that’s how their lives will be improved,” Mr Stewart said.
“Attempts to shut down the voice by politicians and other people who already have a national platform are exactly why the voice is needed: to ensure voices from the grassroots can be heard in Canberra and are not misrepresented or diluted by a noisy few with their own agenda, the likes of which we are seeing today.”
The referendum is due to be held between October and December.
A joint committee is examining the proposed question and constitution changes before the terms of the referendum are locked in by the federal parliament.
The committee will hold its next round of hearings on the voice in Cairns on Wednesday.
AAP
