Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for her question. I am not sure that we have lost the confidence of the gentlemen you refer to. But, quite frankly, what we know is that there are a range of diverse opinions about all issues in political debate in Australia and particularly in the Indigenous area. We have had a number of Indigenous people argue a range of positions about the Northern Territory intervention and what the best way forward is in terms of providing housing and employment opportunities. Mr Warren Mundine, who was President of the Australian Labor Party, had views that were not necessarily consistent with what the ALP was arguing at the time but he was, and remains, a strong advocate. Mr Noel Pearson has made a number of contributions to the debate, some of which I agree with and some of which I do not, but I engaged with him when I was Indigenous affairs spokesman and he makes a really useful contribution to the debate. So I do not think one can try and say, in terms of assessing complex policy: ‘Well, one person disagrees with you on an issue, therefore you ought to reconsider your position, or therefore you ought to go home and pack up and give it away.’ The reality is the debate about the way forward in Indigenous Affairs is contentious.