Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the Prime Minister for his contribution. I want to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet today, the Ngunnawal people, and I pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging. I acknowledge the members of Indigenous heritage in this chamber and the other and the contribution that they make to this place.

It was in February 2009 that the first Closing the gap report was tabled in this parliament. The coalition are proud of our record, in government and in opposition, in contributing to the Closing the Gap objective. We worked with Australian governments at all levels and, indeed, the coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peak organisations to reach, in 2020, a national agreement on closing the gap. That national agreement articulated four priority reforms centred on collaboration, empowerment, structural government reform and data management.

In 2021 we released the first Commonwealth implementation plan to support the national agreement. That plan committed more than $1 billion towards new measures to help close the gap and address those four priority reforms. That first Commonwealth implementation plan rightly established clear targets and actions to hold the government to the mark in closing the gap.

The coalition was provided with the 2022 Closing the gap annual report this morning, so of course we need more time to consider the findings in full, but I again thank the Prime Minister for his statement today. We welcome the progress that has been made in several areas, specifically that more Indigenous babies are being born with healthy birth weights, that the number of Indigenous children enrolled in preschool is increasing and that there has been a 30 per cent reduction in the rate of Indigenous young people aged 10 to 17 years in detention. In terms of the latter, the former coalition government's allocation of $2.4 million in April 2021 to bolster custody notification services has clearly helped to reduce Indigenous children incarceration rates. Of that, we're very proud. On behalf of the coalition, I thank and congratulate all those across the nation whose deeds and contributions have made a meaningful difference in these areas and many others.

Most concerning are the findings that four targets have gone backwards—those in the areas of Indigenous adult incarceration rates, Indigenous suicide rates and Indigenous child removal rates. The coalition stand with the government in wanting to see practical measures which can address these areas, and we welcome the measures that the Labor government has taken, which build on those that we took when in government. There is no question about the passionate intent of all in this place to improve the lives of Indigenous Australians; to see better standards of living and education outcomes, reduced mortality rates and the stamping out of domestic violence and crime; and to see, in particular, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have the same opportunities as any other Australian child. That passionate intent reflects the resolve of the Australian people. In addition to Closing the Gap initiatives, we must ask ourselves this question: are there opportunities to put a foot on the accelerator where we need to do it most?

On 27 October I advised those in this place that Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and I had visited the Northern Territory. Women and mothers despairingly told us about the rampant abuse that was happening in their community on that very day. I want to reiterate the comments that I made then. This is in our country, in the year 2022, and what's happening on the fringe of communities is a disgrace. Children are sleeping during the day and missing classes to avoid being at home during the hours of darkness, from fear of being sexually abused or assaulted. They were firsthand accounts of elders and Indigenous women within the communities, and their voices need to be heard.

We in this place know that child sexual abuse is widespread in those Indigenous communities and that it has been normalised, tragically, in some of those families. It's why I called on the Prime Minister in October to hold a royal commission to examine these allegations—these claims from community leaders and elders within those Indigenous communities. Today I call on the Prime Minister again to hold a royal commission as a matter of urgency, something the coalition would wholeheartedly support. It's something that we can do right now to put our foot on the accelerator to improve Indigenous lives. It is something we can do ahead of a referendum on the Voice and we shouldn't wait to do it.

Australians want to know, quite reasonably, that our country is able to have a reasonable debate in relation to the significant proposal being put forward by the Prime Minister in relation to a voice to parliament. As part of that civil discussion, there needs to be acknowledgement that there are strongly held views on both sides of the debate, both in favour and against, within Indigenous communities in our country and within every community across our country, that their views and their contributions should be made and heard with respect and that differing opinions don't amount to racism or some abrogation of responsibility or a lessening of the desire to see an improvement in the lives of Indigenous Australians.

Australians want to know whether a constitutionally enshrined voice to parliament will be able to deliver those outcomes that we all burn for and that we want now for Indigenous communities, but how are Australians supposed to make an informed decision at a referendum when they are deprived of the details? It's been more than four months since the Garma festival, when the Prime Minister announced the government's proposed textual changes to the Constitution in the form of three additional sentences, and it has now been more than three months since the Prime Minister's meeting and press conference with Shaquille O'Neal, but Australians are none the wiser about the Voice—the what, the who, the where, the when and the how.

These are reasonable questions, and the most elementary questions remain unanswered. Is the proposed constitutional amendment the only form of words that the government is willing to consider? Does it have an open mind to other suggestions? Who will be eligible to serve on the body? What are the prerequisites for nomination? Will the government clarify the definition of Aboriginality in order to determine who can serve on the body? How will members be elected, chosen or appointed? What's the tenure of members? How many people will make up the body? How will the body be funded? How much will it cost taxpayers annually? Who will oversee the body and ensure that it's accountable? Can the body be amended or, indeed, abolished if needed in extraordinary circumstances? What are the body's terms of reference, its responsibilities and its duties? How will the body interact with the closing the gap process? How will the government ensure that the body hears from voices who don't already have a platform in Australian public life? Will the government rule out using the Voice to negotiate any national treaty? Is the body purely advisory in nature, or will it have decision-making capabilities?

The Prime Minister has noted that it would be a very brave government that ignored the Voice. That remark alone raises questions about the extent of the Voice's powers beyond being an influential body that makes representations. These are some of the questions, but there are many more—there are too many to list today. In the absence of the basic details, it's no wonder that there has been great speculation surrounding how the Voice will operate. These are decent Australians asking these questions of their Prime Minister, and many concerns and questions that Australians have are reasonable and warranted. In matters as important as constitutional change, details must never be an afterthought. Australians will be charged with a matter of utmost national importance. If the referendum is successful, a constitutionally enshrined voice to parliament will be a body without precedent. It will be a major change in how our country is governed.

Australians do have a right to know what they will be voting for. Australians deserve to know whether a constitutionally enshrined voice to parliament will be able to deliver practical outcomes in Indigenous communities, how quickly that can take place and that it will not be, as some Indigenous leaders have expressed to me with concern, an elitist model which represents a capital-city view at the expense of remote communities.

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