Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (NT, Country Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Hansard source

Exactly: we can't operate on a wing and a prayer, and we certainly cannot guarantee that a constitutionally enshrined voice to parliament will improve the lives of Indigenous Australians. What I'm hearing is we can only hope that that is the case. In fact, we can't even determine how the Voice to Parliament will be structured or how representatives will be appointed or elected.

I recall a conversation recently with the Minister for Indigenous Australians around the distribution of the $250 million promised to Central Australia—the way in which it is supposed to improve the lives of our marginalised in our communities. I was told that there are going to be four recognised regions—I wasn't told what those regions were—and a committee will be formed who will determine how those funds are implemented. Then, when I asked, 'Well, are those committee members going to be appointed or elected? How is that going to come about?' the member for Lingiari said, 'Oh, we're just going to leave it up to them to decide that.'

Is that how the representatives of the Voice are going to be determined—just leave it up to the mob out bush to determine how they're going to pick whoever and not provide any framework around that? Is that how this Voice is going to be determined? That to me is deeply concerning, because right now we don't know how the proposed $250 million is going to improve the lives of our marginalised, who are confronted with an emergency situation.

Yes, Lhere Artepe are doing a great job. They've reinstated the elder patrol, which had previously been established while I was Deputy Mayor of Alice Springs Town Council. And, of course, my mother was an elder on that patrol, patrolling those streets at night for those kids. That's all wonderful, but will those being appointed to the Voice be determined in the same manner that it was suggested to me, by just letting the communities or the regions—which we don't know how they're going to be determined yet—decide?