Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I doubt that there would be a federal member of parliament who does not want Indigenous Australians to have the same opportunities as non-Indigenous Australians—the opportunity to have an education, to get a job, to raise a family, to have a safe roof over your head and to live a long life. Sadly, that is not the experience of many Indigenous Australians who live in my electorate of Durack.

I believe that there could be support for a referendum on constitutional enshrinement of our Indigenous Australians. However, I don't believe that by simply asking a 'yes' or 'no' question without detailing the practical steps that will be taken in the event that the 'yes' vote gets up gives the referendum the best possible chance of success. We should respect the Australian people and give them sufficient detail to understand the form and purpose of the voice in the referendum.

Some have argued that a voice to federal parliament will ensure that the closing of the gap and those issues will get resolved and that our Indigenous women and children will be able to feel safe at home and in their communities. I am very willing to have an open mind on this issue, and I sincerely hope that this is the case, but if the voice is nothing more than symbolism—

Honourable members inter jecting—

Please be respectful. If it is nothing more than purely to please the city elite and there is no meaningful change for all Indigenous Australians right across our great nation then we will all have failed.

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