Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party, Shadow Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Indigenous Affairs. First Nations working group member and Yes 23 director Thomas Mayo has stated:

… we need the power of the Constitution behind us so we can organise like we've never organised before …

and:

We keep going, we maintain this momentum, until we change the system, until we tear down the institutions …

Does the minister agree with Mr Mayo's statements?

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is some difficulty with that question, because the minister has got to be directly responsible. I'll hear from the Leader of the House about the responsibilities of the minister.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On a point of order: this question was framed quite differently to the previous one. This one does not go to the minister's responsibilities at all.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm going to give you another chance to rephrase the question—and I need to be clear that the minister is responsible for the working group, not the Attorney-General. I'm just going to seek some advice on that point. If she's not responsible for the working group, the question will have to be redirected. I'll seek some advice from the Clerk.

I'll give the shadow minister the opportunity to rephrase the question. The Leader of the Opposition, on a point of order?

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

Mr Speaker, it might help you in your ruling to understand, as I do, that the Minister for Indigenous Affairs makes the appointments of the people, including Mr Mayo, to the referendum working group. The work of the working group is solely within the responsibility of the minister. The minister meets regularly with the working group and has provided support to the working group. In fact, it is funded, as I understand it, by the minister's department—the secretariat, the costs of Mr Mayo and others to travel around the country. On that basis, I put it to you that it is squarely within the minister's responsibility.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will invite the member for Page to rephrase the question, so that it is the minister's responsibility.

Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party, Shadow Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Indigenous Affairs. First Nations working group member and Yes 23 director Thomas Mayo has stated:

We keep going, we maintain this momentum, until we change the system, until we tear down the institutions …

Given that the minister's responsible for the working group and the people on the working group, does she agree with Mr Mayo's statements?

Government members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Members on my left! I'll hear from the Leader of the House.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The rephrasing doesn't solve the problem that I raised in the previous point of order, which is that, after all of the context, the question is just, 'Does the minister agree with someone else's statement?' and that doesn't go to her responsibilities.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'll hear from the Manager of Opposition Business.

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's absolutely clear that the establishment of the Referendum Working Group is within the minister's responsibilities. She can respond to this as she chooses, but the suggestion that the question is in some way out of order is completely incorrect.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Every minister cannot be held responsible for every single statement made by the person that they've appointed, but the question is on the borderline. I'm going to allow it, but just for future reference: questions should be phrased about not just agreeing with the statement, more about the actions.

Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What we have in this nation is a group of people that are poorer, sicker and more incarcerated and die earlier than anyone else. The Voice and the referendum are about doing things differently to change those things. It is not about individual statements of people that are involved in this. I am not responsible for what other people say, but I'll tell you what I'm responsible for. I'm responsible for what I say and what I do. At every step of the way, I have conducted myself with integrity, I have conducted myself properly, and I have conducted myself with honesty. I have embraced every single person in this parliament if they wished to participate. The working group has provided advice on a number of occasions, including to the Leader of the Opposition and the then shadow minister for Aboriginal affairs on two occasions. Do not use the ridiculous, underhanded notions that you're using—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Members on my right. The minister will pause.

The member for Macnamara will leave the chamber under 94(a) for that statement. I'll hear from the member for Page.

Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party, Shadow Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The point of order is relevance. In the question, there was no reflection on the minister. We hold the minister in high regard. These questions are going to the workings of people on her working group and how this Voice will work, and I ask the minister to be relevant.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the House.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Under precedents from both you and former speakers, when a question that was particularly borderline has been allowed, there has normally been a pretty light-handed attachment to the relevance rule. With Speaker Smith and a number of speakers, when a question could have been in or out, that's been taken into account in the relevance rule.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister is in continuation. I'm going to make sure she's remaining relevant to the question.

Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To finish my answer, can I just say this: if anyone has wanted to have a discussion with me about this issue, I have been available. There is no way that I can see where I haven't conducted myself appropriately and respectfully. At the end of the day, this is about doing things differently so that we can move the dial on a national shame in this country.