Aboriginal elder denounces Peter Dutton for ‘Judas-style betrayal’ in the Voice to Parliament
Indigenous activist and Voice to Parliament supporter Noel Pearson has condemned Peter Dutton for his ‘Judas betrayal of the land’ in opposing the Voice.
Dutton revealed on Wednesday that the Liberal Party would oppose Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s policies as they stand – a decision the prime minister described as a significant blow ahead of the referendum.
On the back of the announcement – which came as no surprise to many after weeks of Mr Dutton and senior Liberals questioning the mechanics of the vote – Mr Pearson revealed he was struggling to sleep.
“I couldn’t sleep last night, I was tormented by dreams and the Dutton Liberal Party’s Judas betrayal of our country,” he told RN Breakfast.
“I have a strong belief that the Liberal Party and Dutton are out of step with the sentiment of the Australian people, this is more about [Dutton’s] calculations of Liberal v. Labour, rather than what is good for the country.
“He doesn’t mind throwing Indigenous Australians and the country’s future under the bus to keep his miserable political skin…and it’s sad.”
Indigenous activist and Voice to Parliament supporter Noel Pearson has condemned Peter Dutton for his ‘Judas betrayal of the land’ in opposing the Voice
The Liberal party chamber voted on Wednesday to reject the government’s proposed voting model in favor of establishing local and regional votes that would be legislated but not embedded in the constitution
The Liberal party chamber voted on Wednesday to reject the government’s proposed model for an indigenous body known as the Voice, which would be formally recognized in the constitution and advise on any proposed laws that would benefit the Aboriginal and Torres Strait people. meet.
The Liberals will now campaign against the vote in the upcoming referendum and instead propose local and regional votes that will be legislated but not embedded in the constitution.
Mr Albanese said he was disappointed but not surprised by the Liberals’ decision and took issue with Peter Dutton’s suggestion that the party support symbolic constitutional recognition for indigenous peoples without the element of the vote.
It seems some people don’t want a voice; they prefer to whisper,’ said Mr. Albanese.
But Mr Pearson argued that it took the coalition 11 years in power to issue a ‘good proposal for recognition’.
“I see the leader of the Liberal Party, Peter Dutton, as an undertaker, preparing the grave to bury Uluru and I think this is a very sad day for Australia that we cannot have a two-party system in this important national endeavor.
Anthony Albanese says he knows liberal frontbenchers who want to support a constitutionally enshrined indigenous voice in parliament
Mr Pearson said it was important for supporters of The Voice to “meet hate with love, fear with understanding, face negativity with hope” and most importantly, “don’t think about failure”.
He refuses to believe that this decision will be reflected in a referendum later this year and that the Voice to Parliament will be voted down.
“It’s never going to happen. Peter Dutton’s decision will motivate people very much.. it makes very clear what the decision is,” he said.
Key moderates Andrew Bragg and Bridget Archer were quick to break ranks to show their support for the Voice after their banquet hall agreed to allow backbenchers a vote of conscience on the matter.
Ms Archer confirmed almost immediately that she would defy the party line and campaign for a ‘yes’ vote and said the Liberals verdict on the Voice was the latest in a series of decisions that tested her faith in the party posed.
The outspoken Tasmanian backbencher, who has crossed the floor to vote Labor in the past, told the ABC after the banquet hall meeting that she thought the Voice was worth fighting for and there was a “moral imperative” to it support the proposal.
The Albanian government has maintained that amending the constitution is the form of recognition requested by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders in the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart
Since confirming the wording of the question that will be put to all Australians in the referendum later this year, the Prime Minister has been inundated with questions from political opponents, the media and the general public about the scope of power the Voice will have .
Senator Bragg released a statement saying he kept an open mind as a long-term supporter of the “Voice” concept, adding that he was committed to achieving the “best possible” constitutional amendment to both empower communities and protect the ‘institutional framework’.
“The process has been bad so far, but I don’t think that’s a good reason to oppose the referendum,” Senator Bragg said.
Senator Bragg and Ms. Archer are allowed to support the referendum because neither of them sit on the front bench of the opposition.
But liberals in the shadow cabinet will have to oppose the Voice, meaning all MPs who support the proposal will have to either support the coalition’s position or resign from their front positions.
After the Liberals’ meeting on Wednesday, the prime minister said he was aware of shadow ministers who would like to cross the floor in support of the government’s proposal.
“But it’s a matter for them,” Mr Albanese told ABC Radio Sydney.
Later on Wednesday, Mr Albanese told ABC radio program Hack that he met Mr Dutton seven times “in good faith” to discuss the vote.
In publicly confirming his decision on Wednesday, Mr Dutton said: ‘I don’t think this is in the interest of our country.
“I have literally spent months, like many Australians, trying to understand what the Prime Minister is proposing. We can’t get the basic details out of it. We think it’s on purpose. We are waiting, waiting for advice.’