Linda Burney reads a script about football player Johnathan Thurston as she is asked what happens after the Voice
Linda Burney evaded a question about $5.8 million in funding being set aside for a treaty with a scripted response quoting NRL star Johnathan Thurston.
The answer in Tuesday’s Question Time has led to questions from the opposition as to whether Ms Burney is ‘fit for the job of minister’.
Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley asked the Minister of Indigenous Affairs whether Labor still supports the funding allocated to the Makarrata Commission.
As outlined in the Uluru Declaration from the Heart, ‘Makarrata’ would be a special body that would seek a treaty between the federal government and First Nations communities.
Ms Ley asked for clarification on ‘exactly what (the committee) would do’.
Mrs Burney did not answer the question, but read from a prepared answer on the principles of the Voice to Parliament.
She then quoted Indigenous footballer Thurston, who supports the referendum.
“In the words of NRL legend Johnathan Thurston, our young people deserve a chance to be their best,” said Ms Burney.
That’s what The Voice is about. Vote Yes for unity, hope and to make a positive difference.”
Ms Ley argued that Ms Burney did not answer her question. “This (the question) was very tight,” she said. “One number, and only one number.”
Ms Burney led the discussion back to the referendum later this year in which Australians will be asked to constitutionally enshrine an Indigenous voice in parliament.
“The 2023 referendum is about constitutional recognition. About the voice. Australians will be asked a simple question,” she said.
Ms Burney went on to describe the main tenets of the proposed Voice – that the committee will be made up of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, elected by their own communities.
In a later conversation with Daily Mail Australia, Ms Ley said Ms Burney’s reaction was concerning.
“I was disappointed in Linda Burney, and frankly it made me question whether she was up to the job of minister,” said Ms Ley.
“I know I’m not the only one who thinks that.”
Ms. Ley wondered why “again and again she refused to confirm whether she was still committed to Makarrata, even though the taxpayer pours millions of dollars into it at her direction.”
Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has cast doubts on Linda Burney’s ‘ability to be a minister’ after she dodged a question about the $5.8 million in funding set aside for making treaties and telling the truth
At the end of Question Time, Ms Ley said: ‘The Albanian government is difficult with the vote, difficult with the Treaty and difficult with Makarrata and will be given a chance to justify their approach. Secretary Burney hid from scrutiny.
“What we saw today was not acceptable and not the standard we should accept from a minister of any government.”
During the election campaign, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged a total of $27 million to the Makarrata Commission.
So far, $5.8 million has been allocated directly in the October mini budget.
Ms Burney led the discussion back to the referendum later this year in which Australians will be asked to constitutionally enshrine an Indigenous vote in parliament
She quoted Indigenous NRL star Johnathan Thurston, who supports the Voice
Meanwhile, Chancellor of the Exchequer Katy Gallagher was also questioned in the Senate about Labour’s position on the treaty, answering on behalf of Ms Burney.
South Australian Senator Kerryanne Liddle quoted Voice architect, Professor Megan Davis, as describing the Voice as a “treaty authorizing mechanism”.
“Is she right?” asked Mrs. Liddle.
Following the treaty reactions in the House of Representatives, Ms. Gallagher refers back to the basic principles.
“The government has been very clear about the question that will be put to the people,” she said.
It was the second day in a row that treaty issues dominated question time, after several opposition politicians put the same questions to the government on Monday.
The “highlight of the agenda” from the Uluru Declaration is a “Makarrata Commission” that would seek a treaty between the government and First Nations communities. Pictured: The Uluru Statement from the Heart
A treaty with Aboriginal Australians is controversial because it could potentially lead to substantial financial compensation for taxpayers, the transfer of private land and the formal recognition of alleged historical wrongs.
The Makarrata Commission would seek a treaty between the federal government and the First Nations community.
It would have the “authority to facilitate the process of making treaties and telling the truth” between the two groups, according to the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
Mr Albanese outlined the responsibilities of such a future commission in a statement November 15, 2021 . After winning the May 2022 federal election, he declared that the new Labor government would “fully adopt” the Uluru Statement of the Heart.
He said at the time: “As called for in the Uluru statement, the Makarrata Commission will be responsible for overseeing treaty-making and truth-telling processes.
“The Makarrata Commission will be independent… and will operate with a vote for parliament when it is established.”
The commission’s responsibilities would “initially” include consulting First Nations communities, recommending a “framework for making federal treaties” and, crucially, issuing a report within the first term of a Labor government.
Under that schedule, the commission should be established and given enough time to consult and deliberate with the community by 2025, when the next election is due.
Mr. Albanese said $26.5 million would be allocated to the commission in its first two years to “support truth projects,” and he hoped the state, territory and local governments would match that funding.