Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Wong. In light of the answers that we've just received, and the questions, could you please remind this Senate of the reasons for the Voice to Parliament and how it was conceived and driven by Indigenous Australian communities? Could the minister also advise how this year's referendum offers an opportunity to achieve progress towards a better future for all Australians? Does the minister have any concerns about the risks towards this progress?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Ciccone for that question, and for his sincere and ongoing interest in reconciliation and the project of building a better future for all Australians. It's a good question. Those opposite might like to recall that the idea of a voice came directly from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people—

Hon. Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Minister, please resume your seat.

Honourable senators interjecting—

Senator Cash, I've just called the chamber to order. That includes you—and Senator Henderson and Senator Hughes.

Honourable senators interjecting—

Order! Order across the chamber, particularly on my left! I am calling the minister to continue her response. I expect her to be heard in silence.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The call for the Voice did not come from politicians. The call for the Voice came from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In 2017, after many years of work and countless discussions in every part of this country, nearly 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and elders—

Honourable senators interjecting—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order, senators! Senator Ayres! I just called the chamber to order, and the minute I called the minister, the disorder continued. It's disrespectful. I'm asking for silence. Minister Wong.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Nearly 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and elders endorsed the Statement from the Heart, calling for recognition in the Constitution through a voice. The Voice is about recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our Constitution and paying respect to 65,000 years of culture and tradition. It is also about listening. It's about listening to the advice our First Nations people give on matters that affect their lives so that governments make better decisions.

Honourable senators interjecting—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Minister, please resume your seat.

Senator Watt, I just sat the minister down. I remind all of you that you have the opportunity at any time in the sitting calendar to make your views known. Question time is not the time for these unruly and disrespectful interjections. Minister Wong, please continue.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is about government making better decisions, and it is an idea driven by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, supported by eight in 10 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Surely we all know the current approach is broken. We see First Nations people with a life expectancy eight years shorter than non-Indigenous Australians, the worst rates of disease and infant mortality, a suicide rate twice as high—

I am surprised, Senator McGrath, you would interject on these points—and fewer opportunities for education and training. The Voice is our best chance to fix this.

Honourable senators interjecting—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister Wong—

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When governments listen to people—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister Wong! Please resume your seat.

Senator McGrath, that was outrageous and completely disorderly. I've asked for order across the chamber, particularly on my left but also on my right. Senator Wong is entitled to be heard in silence. I should not have to remind all of you how to conduct yourselves in this place.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When governments listen to people about issues that affect them, they make better decisions, get better results and deliver better value for money. That is why all Australians, not just politicians in this place, will have a chance to say, 'We can do better and we must.'

A government senator interjecting —

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm not quite sure who that was on my right, but that was incredibly disrespectful.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Withdraw it!

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order, Senator McGrath! Senator Ciccone, first supplementary?

Honourable senators interjecting—

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Coward!

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Ciccone, please resume your seat. Senator McGrath, your interjections are rude and disorderly and disrespectful.

Senator McGrath, I am ordering you to be silent, not to have a debate with me. Senator Ciccone, first supplementary?

Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, why have the Prime Minister, the government and other leaders decided to support First Nations communities in seeking to achieve constitutional recognition through a voice to parliament, and what message does the Albanese government have to those with political platforms who have not yet decided to support the Voice?

Honourable Senator:

An honourable senator interjecting—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm waiting for silence. Minister Wong.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Albanese government supports the Voice because we believe it's important to give people a say on issues that affect them and to give us all the chance to make a practical difference that improves lives. We also believe we have an opportunity, together, to bring people together to bring about a better future—an opportunity for a unifying moment for our country. Unfortunately, rather than looking at the opportunity for the nation, the opposition are still taking the approach of Mr Morrison to look for opportunity for themselves. That is why they want to talk about everything other than what a voice will do, because they actually know Australians don't find the current situation experienced by Indigenous Australians acceptable. So I say to all senators the future of our country is more important than our political futures, and I ask senators to reflect on whether they want to use the soul and fabric of our nation as a political battleground. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Ciccone, second supplementary?

Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What lessons can we take from history as we seek to make that progress for a better future for all Australians, and can the minister please remind the Senate about the efforts to achieve reform in Australia in the past?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I invite the opposition to look to a shared national interest, not just their own narrow political interests. I invite the opposition to overcome their legacy of exploiting fear to put political fights ahead of national progress. Let's have a look at that legacy. Mr Abbott said Australia would become an economic wasteland if we acted on climate change. Mr Joyce said action on climate change would mean Australians would pay over $100 for a roast. Mr Morrison said electric vehicles would end the weekend, and Senator Cash—there's so much from Senator Cash—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, resume your seat. Senator Scarr, on a point of order?

Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On relevance: I fail to see how climate change can in any way be relevant to a primary question asked about the Voice.

Government senators interjecting—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question went to history, and perhaps, senators, if there were silence in this place, we could all hear the answer.

Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I did!

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Scarr, I'm not inviting you to respond. Minister Wong.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

For Senator Cash, there were a lot of options on the scare campaign.

I know you're sensitive on this. One of the best ones was that Senator Cash said that the secure jobs, better pay bill would leave supermarket shelves bare. Then, of course, there is Mr Dutton. Mr Dutton not only didn't even attend the apology but also said it would open the government up to serious damages claims. We all know what you're up to, because that's what you always do. (Time expired)

Honourable senators interjecting—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! I would ask senators to go back and review the tape and look at the behaviour across this chamber. If you think you've covered yourselves in glory, I'd ask you to look at it again, because that last—

Out of order, thank you, Senator Cash; you were one of the key leaders of it. That was disgraceful. It's not respect at work. It's a disgrace to this chamber. Particularly from my left but also from my right, this is not how question time ought to be conducted, and all of you need to reflect on that.