Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Later this year Australians will head to the polls and be asked to vote to change our Constitution. Their vote will carry as much weight as mine. As MPs and as people, we in this House will each have one vote, just like every other Australian. That is why the Liberal Party is supporting this bill, to allow Australians to have their say. To start, it is important to note that the Liberal Party supports the recognition of Indigenous Australians in the Constitution and legislated local and regional voices to ensure Indigenous communities, like ours in Healesville, have their voice heard. This process should have been an opportunity to unite all Australians in recognising Indigenous Australians in our Constitution and delivering tangible outcomes for local Indigenous communities. However, the Prime Minister has refused to engage with the Liberal Party in good faith. He has sought to politicise this process for his own political agenda.

As members of parliament, we all bring our lived experiences to this place, and they shape who we are and what we believe. I've spent my life living in Casey and have been very fortunate to have a strong connection to our local Indigenous community, especially through my time growing up in Yarra Glen and playing cricket with the Healesville Cricket Club. My connection to Indigenous Australia was strengthened when Rachel and I were married, and I was lucky enough to gain an Indigenous brother-in-law, Brendan; and an uncle, Jason, who's Indigenous. I've been very fortunate to have different Indigenous people in my life. The key lesson that I have learnt through this experience is that there is not one homogenous Indigenous community but rather communities made up of individuals—yes, with a shared culture, but with individual experiences, beliefs, passions and challenges.

That leads me to one of the fundamental concerns I have with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. How will these individual and community voices be heard? Without knowing the details of local issues and circumstances, there is a genuine risk that well-intended improvements are misdirected and even damaging for communities, something none of us want to see.

The township of Healesville in my electorate of Casey sits on the lands of the Wurundjeri people, who have inhabited the region for thousands of years. Their deep connection to the land, their culture and their traditions are an integral part of Healesville's history.

This history would not be ours to know without the words of William Barak. Barak was born near what we now call Wonga Park. He witnessed the many changes brought about by European colonisation and became a strong advocate for Indigenous rights and heritage. His advocacy led to the establishment of the Coranderrk Aboriginal reserve in 1863. The reserve, just outside Healesville near Badger Creek, became a haven for Indigenous people. It became a self-sufficient community where Indigenous Australians cultivated the land, raised livestock and led a regimented life defined by work, religion and education. Coranderrk became Victoria's best-known Aboriginal reserve, until its closure in 1924.

To this day, Healesville continues to honour its Indigenous heritage and history. The legacy of William Barak lives on in my community through organisations such as Oonah health and community services, who play a crucial role in promoting cultural awareness and support for the local Indigenous population.

Now, throughout this national discussion on the Voice, my primary concern has been to make sure I've engaged with my local community, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous. From my engagement with our local Indigenous groups and leaders, there is no doubt that there are differing opinions on the Voice and there are many concerns.

In February, I invited the former shadow minister for Indigenous Australians to Casey. We had previously discussed the Voice and the unique needs of the Indigenous community in Casey. He came out to Healesville and we met with some of our Indigenous leaders. We also met with the Yarra Ranges Indigenous Advisory Committee, visited Oonah health and Worawa college, a fantastic Indigenous college in Healesville directed by Dr Lois Peeler, AM.

To further enhance this engagement, I've engaged with a group called democracyCo to hold a joint community forum this Sunday, 28 May, because it is important for me to hear the views of my local constituents. Participants were carefully selected to reflect the demographics of my electorate, and on Sunday they will hear from Indigenous leaders on both the 'yes' case and the 'no' case. I look forward to updating the House next week with the results from this forum.

I also recently had the opportunity to speak to a well-known Indigenous elder in my community. I've got to know this man over many years, but particularly at the many welcomes to country that he holds in our community and for our community. He was strident in his opposition to the Voice. He and his community have not been engaged or consulted with in any way throughout this process. They hear about the Voice only through the media. Now, this is promoted as something that will improve the lives of Indigenous Australians, yet some Indigenous elders in my community have been left in the dark as to what the Voice entails for them. This man is frustrated and worried that his community will not have its voice heard through this Voice to Parliament model.

This is an example of why the detail on the local and regional voices is so important. It would alleviate the fear and frustration that some local Indigenous communities feel.

But even more concerning was his request that his name not be used during this speech, due to his concerns over repercussions for honestly speaking out about how he feels and how his community feels. It's deeply concerning that he holds these fears, and, as we continue this debate, beyond this House to the public, I urge all Australians to engage respectfully in this conversation and respect the views of all Australians.

Throughout my consultations with my community, two primary concerns have arisen that the government have not addressed. The first, as I've talked about, is how the local Indigenous voices in my community of Casey will be heard. The second relates to the legal risks associated with the proposed amendments. I will not speak in detail on the legal risks associated with the constitutional amendment, as greater legal minds than mine have discussed these in detail. I would note, however—with disappointment—the missed opportunity by the government to engage in the committee review process in good faith and make amendments to the wordings of the legislation, to remove or at least reduce the legal concerns many people have.

I want to focus the remaining time I have on the local and regional voices that have not been addressed by the government today. The reality is that the challenges the Indigenous community in Casey face are different from those in inner-city Melbourne, Gippsland, Shepparton, Far North Queensland, Central Australia or anywhere else in Australia. That is why the detail of how local and regional voices interacting with the national Voice is so important and should be known before the referendum.

I wrote to the Minister for Indigenous Australians on 3 May 2023 seeking more information and clarity about my concerns, following her confirmation that regional voices are part of the government's plan. Reasonably, I requested a response by today, 24 May. I asked the following four questions of the minister: Could you please provide more detail on how these regional voices will operate? Will there be a regional voice for my Indigenous community, here, in Casey? Were any Wurundjeri people involved in the Uluru Statement from the heart? Are there any Wurundjeri people on either the referendum engagement group or the referendum working group? These questions are all important to me, to the residents of Casey and—most importantly—to the Indigenous community in Casey who have been asking these questions.

I'm yet to receive a response from the minister. And I still hold the concern that the Indigenous voices of my community have not been heard through the formation of the proposed Voice model and will not be heard in the national Voice. I want my local Indigenous voices to be heard so we can deliver better outcomes for our community. There is a real risk they will not be heard as part of this national Voice—resulting in even worse outcomes in my community. I know that if the framework is established correctly not only will my community's voice be heard but all Indigenous communities' voices, at the grassroots level, will be heard. The needs and concerns of the Indigenous population in my community are not the same as the needs or concerns of Indigenous Australians in remote Australia. They're unique issues, and they deserve to be heard.

I am disappointed that the government has not engaged in good faith with the Liberal Party, by refusing to answer the 15 questions the Leader of the Opposition put to the Prime Minister. I'm even more disappointed that the Minister for Indigenous Australians has not been willing or able to answer the four questions on how the voices of my community, the Wurundjeri people, have been and will be heard. Any alteration to our Constitution should unite Australians, not divide us. Those opposite have repeatedly refused to answer basic questions on the operation of the proposed model for a voice to parliament, resulting in many Australians not being able to support the Voice as it stands today. I'm so grateful that I have had the opportunity to know so many Indigenous Australians through my life and in so many different ways, and their voices are important to me, as are the voices of all Australians and, importantly, my constituents in Casey. They should be heard, not in a symbolic way but in a meaningful way, to deliver tangible outcomes that will close the gap. As it stands today, it is not clear how this National Voice will close the gap for Indigenous Australians in Casey and across the nation.

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