Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I will commence with questioning in relation to the questions that the Leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton, put to the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, in a letter dated 7 January 2023. For the Hansard record, I will refer to the letter:

Dear Prime Minister

I write in relation to your proposal to constitutionally enshrine an Indigenous Voice (The Voice) to Parliament via a referendum this year.

As you know, I have been constructive and supportive of the Government on a number of issues where it is in the national interest to do so. I am committed to being constructive on the issue of reconciliation and as you are aware from our discussions the Coalition will support any sensible and practical measures to improve the lives of Indigenous Australians.

If the referendum is successful, a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament will be a body without precedent and a significant change in how Australia is governed. Many Australians do not understand the scope and operation of the Voice and expect comprehensive information before being asked to vote. Regrettably, it now appears clear that your political strategy is to not provide adequate detail for Australians to make an informed decision.

I believe you are making a catastrophic mistake in not providing accessible, clear and complete information regarding your government's version of the Voice, condemning it to failure and, in turn, damaging reconciliation efforts in our country. Your approach will ensure a dangerous and divisive debate grounded in hearsay and misinformation. I have attached a list of issues which many people have raised as not being adequately addressed to date.

You have engaged two of our country's smartest political operatives, but their advice to you on rushing the referendum and not providing details to the Australian public is wrong and must surely go against your natural instinct.

All voting Australians have a right to make a fully informed decision when considering an issue as significant as changing our Constitution. Australians expect the Government to provide the necessary and balanced information to support them in making a decision and to ensure transparency and integrity of the process. In turn we all have an obligation to respect the outcome. Your government's position that detail isn't needed before a vote and will be contained in subsequent legislation is unreasonable, disrespectful to the Australian public and undermines the integrity of the process.

In refusing to provide basic information and answer reasonable questions on the Voice, you are treating the Australian people like mugs. Publicly releasing the details on how the Voice will operate will enable Australians to assess whether it would be representative of remote Indigenous people; whether its structure was effective or just another layer of bureaucracy similar to the failed ATSIC; and whether it would interfere with the system of Government which has kept our country a stable and peaceful democracy for over a century.

Both sides of Parliament seek better opportunities and outcomes for Indigenous Australians. The incidence of sexual assault, domestic violence, and health outcomes, among many other issues, in Indigenous communities (particularly in regional and remote areas) is a national disgrace. It is imperative you explain how a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament will deliver tangible improvements in the lives of Indigenous Australians, which must remain the priority of Government.

Given your government has been in office for seven months and has the ability to pass legislation in both houses of Parliament, legislation for a Voice could be enacted when Parliament resumes at the beginning of next month. This would allow you to demonstrate the effectiveness of your preferred Voice model in closing the gap.

The Government must stop playing clever and tricky political games by withholding detail and rushing the referendum. I again call on you to provide Australians with the necessary detail on how the Albanese government's version of the Voice will operate.

Yours sincerely,

PETER DUTTON

As I stated, it was dated 7 January 2023. It contained a list of questions in an attachment, which began:

Australians are none the wiser about The Voice—what, who, where, when and how. They seek detailed information on the following: …

The Leader of the Opposition then set out a number of questions. A response was provided to the Leader of the Opposition by the Prime Minister on 1 February 2023. But, unfortunately, in reading the response, there is not one answer to the questions. What is stated, though, is that there would be a set of principles that basically 'identify the Voice as a body that would', and then sets out a list of dot points.

The questions that Mr Dutton put in his letter are the questions that the Australian people have actually been asking the government to answer since 30 July 2022. Minister, on behalf of the Australian people, who continue to ask the questions and would like the answers to them so that they can make an informed decision in coming to this referendum—given that there was no constitutional convention and there was not the benefit of minds coming together to discuss the actual section of the Constitution that is proposed—I ask those questions again. The first question is this: if the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice is permanently enshrined in our Constitution, who will be eligible to serve on the body?