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

Last Sunday, 28 May, 58 people randomly selected across the electorate of Casey came together to talk about the proposed Voice to Parliament for Indigenous Australians. The attendees represented the diversity of the Casey electorate with respect to gender, age, heritage, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage, educational attainment, voting behaviour and location. They were selected by an independent organisation to make sure that they matched the demographics of the electorate of Casey. The afternoon began with a welcome to country from my good friend Wurundjeri woman Julie Coombs. The participants heard from the 'yes' and 'no' cases, from eminent Australians Aunty Jill Gallagher AO and Warren Mundine AO, and then they discussed the process and answered more questions.

Participants were surveyed about their views when they arrived and then again when they left. This survey was facilitated by independent engagement company democracyCo. All three organisations involved—democracyCo, Sortition Foundation and Hatrick and Co—are committed to improving how the voices of people are heard within our system of government, and they undertook this work in partnership with myself and the people of Casey pro bono. All the organisations are independent and nonpartisan. I would like to thank Emily, Emma, Lisa, Sonia, Chelsey, Kerry and Paul, who all worked very hard to bring this event together.

When participants arrived, a greater portion was in support of the 'no' case, and there was a considerable number who were unsure—almost 30 per cent. Hearing from the speakers and talking to each other resulted in a significant change in views, increasing the portion who supported the 'yes' case and substantially reducing the number of people who were unsure. When they left, the groups were polarised, with equal numbers supporting the 'yes' case and the 'no' case and only 11 per cent remaining unsure.

Why people supported either case reveals some interesting reflections on what equity means and whose voices need to be heard. There was considerable movement in people's views because of the conversation and information that they received, with 23 per cent of attendees changing their views, and it was wonderful to see the way everyone engaged in a positive manner and respected their views.

There were a significant number whose firm views remained unchanged. The people who changed their view to 'no' indicated that they'd changed due to a lack of information or detail about how the Voice will be structured and implemented. People were asking for more information, and I wasn't able to give them that information, because those decisions will not be made until after the referendum. As one participant commented, using the real estate analogy: 'You're selling me a house that does not exist, and you want me to choose "yes" or "no" as to whether I'll buy it. That's not even a plan.' The people who changed their view to 'yes' said that they did this because it became clear to them in the session that the Voice won't impact on non-Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people and because they understood that something needs to change to improve the outcomes for Australia's First Nations people. I can understand the frustration of those who want more.

Interestingly, the feedback on the result of this matched the people who have come into the electorate office, either through my surveys or calling in unprompted, with 39.8 per cent of people saying 'yes', 45.7 per cent saying 'no' and 14.6 per cent still undecided. This information is important. This is the feedback from the people, because it will be the Australian people who will make their decision.

We had an opportunity to have a moment of unity around constitutional recognition and legislating voices that all in this House supported, but the government, unfortunately, decided not to take that moment to bring Australians together and make it a unifying position.

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

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

I hear the interjections from those opposite, but this is the feedback from the Australian people. These are the residents and people of Casey giving their view. They're the ones asking for more detail, because it will be the Australian people who will decide this referendum, and it's disappointing that this Prime Minister missed an opportunity to bring the nation together.