Indigenous Minister Says Changing Constitution Is Not About a ‘Culture War’

Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney and Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health Senator Malarndirri McCarthy announce new renal dialysis units for remote First Nations patients, Darwin, NT on April 13, 2022. (AAP Image/Annette Lin)

Australia’s Indigenous Minister Linda Burney has been forced to reassure voters that a contentious change to the country’s Constitution will not result in wide powers being used to affect everyday people’s lives.

The Labor minister faced probing questions over the extent of power an Indigenous advisory body to parliament will receive if a national referendum succeeds later this year.

She assured sitting MPs in parliament that The Voice would only “make representations” that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and that it would “not run programs, it will not deliver funding, and it will not have the power of veto.”

“I can tell you what The Voice will not be giving advice on: it won’t be giving advice on parking tickets, it won’t be giving advice on changing Australia Day. It will not be giving advice on all of the ridiculous things that this side has come up with,” she said in reference to the federal opposition on June 21.

Yet a leading member of the referendum working group on The Voice, George Williams, a constitutional law expert, has said it was “conceivable they would make representations” on changing Australia’s national day in comments obtained by The Australian newspaper.

Later this year, Australians will vote at a national referendum to decide whether to alter the Constitution to change its preamble to recognise Indigenous peoples and to also set up an advisory body to Parliament.

This near-permanent advisory body would have the power to make “representations” to the executive and legislative arms of government on all matters deemed relevant to Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders.

Advocates see The Voice as the latest advancement in reconciliation and dealing with chronic issues in Indigenous communities, such as unemployment, domestic violence, alcoholism, youth crime, and welfare dependency.

Not About Culture Wars: Minister

When further probed about whether The Voice would result in Australia Day being abolished, Burney said the body would “not be bothered by culture wars.”

“It will focus on the practical differences in terms of ‘closing the gap’ ... it will focus on matters specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,” she said.

Burney was later asked whether she misled parliament on The Voice; in turn, she responded, “It is not the policy of this government to change the date of Australia Day. Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have strong views on the date of Australia Day, but it is the parliament that makes those decisions.”

“It is clear from the question that we are putting to the Australian people that the power of the Parliament will not change. The Voice may give advice, but the Parliament retains its primacy,” she said.

“This is not about culture wars; this is about ‘closing the gap.’ This isn’t about division; this is about bringing people together. This isn’t about tokenism; it’s about making a practical difference.”

Her comments come as the federal opposition ups the pressure on the Labor government as several polls indicate declining support for the referendum.

“Frankly, I think the prime minister, [Anthony Albanese], is at a point where if he realises The Voice is going down, and that’s what all of the polling is indicating at the moment, then he should make a decision that’s in our country’s best interest and say, ‘Look, I’m going to call it off because it is just going to divide the country down the middle,’” said Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, in an interview with 2GB radio.

The Voice the Thin Edge of the Wedge For Some

The Albanese government has been criticised for the lack of detail over how much power the advisory body to parliament would have and whether it could potentially hold up decision-making.

While ministers have been keen to hose down suggestions that The Voice could effectively be a “third chamber” to the executive and legislature, members of the referendum working group have outlined vastly different visions.

Thomas Mayo (or Mayor), the national Indigenous officer of the Maritime Union of Australia and author of the Voice to Parliament Handbook, has said The Voice is just the “first step” before more Indigenous-focused policies are rolled out.

“[The Voice and Uluru Statement] doesn’t say ‘this is the answer,’ it says ‘this is how we can get there,'” he told the Address to the Search Foundation.

“‘Pay the Rent’, for example, how do we do that in a way that is transparent and that actually sees reparations and compensation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people beyond what we say and do at a rally?”

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