Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think it's incredibly important that the National Party have their say on the Voice. It's a crucial issue for us because we live in the areas where there is a high Indigenous—in my area they call themselves Aboriginal—population, in our electorates. In fact, there are about as many people of Aboriginal descent in my electorate as there are farmers. They are incredibly important.

So we come to this debate not from any sense but the most informed—informed that we need to make sure we close the gap. We know that we have issues with regard to health, education and opportunity, but we don't believe that this Voice is the grand elixir, that somehow something that seems to very closely replicate ATSIC except that it's going to be in the Constitution is going to have this marvellous effect, fixing all the problems. Even in its description, we cannot put a line of sight to the legislation that underpins this. Surely the Australian people, including Indigenous people, deserve the respect of seeing the legislation before the referendum. It is not that difficult. If there's one thing any government is capable of, it's drawing up legislation. We have a right—in fact, we have a duty—to oversee that legislation. The Senate has a duty to refer it to a committee and go over that legislation. But to say, 'You're going to vote for this, and then afterwards we'll tell you what you actually voted for' is an anachronism to the democratic process.

I truly believe the process this has gone through under the Prime Minister is hubristic, and hubris precedes nemesis. That would be a very bad and divisive outcome for Australia. I implore the Prime Minister to put aside hubris, to be the better man, to come forward in a bipartisan way and to say, 'Let's make sure that, if we have a referendum, it succeeds.' He has the capacity to do that. He must grow to such an extent that he's prepared to do that.

There are other issues that we see. One of the big issues is that it goes into the Constitution. That is the key to the High Court. As it is the key to the High Court, what happens in a second reading speech is basically not relevant. The extent of its powers is determined by learned judges down the road, not by politicians in this chamber. Even in the question itself it is quite clear. It says, on the subject of the Constitution: if a consultative process is not abided by, it can be challenged in the High Court. So we were correct that there is no veto and there is a capacity to call a decision of this chamber void, as if it never happened, because the process has never been properly followed.

Whether it is in Kempsey or Coledale, Longreach or Charleville, Cunnamulla or other places we live, we want to make sure that we close the gap. The Nationals have been at the forefront of that. With Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, a Warlpiri woman from Central Australia, we make absolutely that we have line of sight and are completely and utterly informed of these problems. One has to respect the voice that says there's a better way. If we do not have enough confidence in ourselves in this chamber to deal with the myriad problems brought before us, what difference will yet another body that sits beside us to instruct this chamber make?

We go away for five weeks. After five weeks, we come back, and the debate will be in full flight. I honestly believe and have believed from the start that the referendum will not be successful. That really concerns me and my colleagues in the National Party, because, as I stated, we live in the areas with high Indigenous population and we'll live with the consequences of what this has turned into: the most divisive time in my experience in this parliament.