Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In last Saturday's referendum, well over 60 per cent of Western Australians voted a resounding 'no' to Labor's Voice. These people are neither racist nor are they denying that significant social and economic gaps exist in our state. Australian voters have provided all in this place with a very powerful reminder that they will not be bullied, conned or fooled by a lack of detail, which was replaced in this case with emotionally manipulative messaging and, quite frankly, paternalistic symbolism. If they are not convinced, they will vote no—and they have.

As a senator for Western Australia, there is absolutely no question in my mind that Western Australians are good people who want the best outcomes for all of our Aboriginal communities, particularly those in regional and remote areas. However, they were simply not convinced that Labor's proposal for a Voice would make any tangible difference in our state.

While the initial focus today has rightly been on the Prime Minister's catastrophic failure of national leadership, Western Australians must now turn their focus on the state Labor government. While the federal government provides billions of dollars every year to Western Australia for Indigenous programs, the Cook government, has the constitutional responsibility for delivering most of these programs. The state government delivers the health, education, infrastructure, training, housing, community safety and justice programs—all of which need to be delivered far more effectively in conjunction and consultation with the empowerment of local communities. It is time for Premier Cook to come out of his self-imposed witness protection on this issue and now start standing up to provide the leadership our Prime Minister has so failed to deliver.