Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Nasty. Mean-spirited. Seriously? You are prepared to oppose the first steps towards reconciliation in this country, to accepting the generous invitation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart and all the work that has gone into that for decades, for your own political purposes. You opposed this, the National Party, before you saw any detail. I checked when you did your first press conference on this. And you come in here and try and tell the Australian people that you want to see the detail in this and that that matters to you. You made a political decision to oppose the Voice so you could appeal to your rusted-ons. Seriously? At least be honest. I think the minister is doing a very good job answering the questions here tonight. But this is about truth. This is about truth. To hear Senator Cash say she was shocked and it was pathetic that somehow the minister was implying that they had a political agenda here—well, this is all about politics. It's so shameful that you would use Aboriginal people in this country as a political football for your own benefits, for your own self-interest, to whip up division in this country when we so desperately need to be united. I think it's high time someone tonight put that on record.