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

Really what we're talking about here is a duty to notify. As I've stated, the explanatory memorandum to the bill says, in terms of section 129(ii) and the representations that can be made, this would include representations about any matter within the executive power of the Commonwealth. It's any matter. It's quite wide; in fact, it's very wide. It's any matter because there are no limits on it. Then, in the explanatory memorandum, we've got some examples: law reform, policy development decisions—and that's very important—made under specific legislation and other matters of government administration. What you've failed to answer is—you said the Voice can make representations; we've established that. We haven't established what it can make representations on, but we've established that it can make representations. The issue, though, becomes, in terms of the obligations on the government to notify the Voice, that the Voice has a constitutional right to make representations, and, as you keep telling us, the representations are to the parliament and the executive government of the people on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

My question to you is, though: how does the Voice make representations in relation to policy development if it doesn't know a policy is being developed? What will be the duty on the government to notify the Voice of a particular policy development decision? There's no point in telling the Voice, after an announcement has been made: 'Guess what? Here it is. Here's the final product. What do you now think?' And they say: 'Guess what? Crikey! Moses! You'll actually have to go back to the drawing board, because we don't agree with any of it. That's our representation to you.' It is obvious that you are going to have to notify them. It is easy to see how a future High Court could say that the Voice would need to be provided with adequate notice of a decision relating to Indigenous peoples in order to fulfil its constitutional function of making representations. We're trying to explore here the ability to make or to carry out or, more, to fulfil my constitutional function of making a representation, so tell me: how would the Voice make representation in relation to policy development if it didn't know a policy was being developed, and how can the government guarantee that a future High Court will not imply a constitutional obligation to provide such notice?

Saturday, 17 June 2023