The NSW Premier’s office is hiring an executive director to lead the government on ‘truth and healing’ in the wake of the failed Voice to Parliament referendum.
The role is reserved for Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander candidates only, and carries a salary of up to $339,000.
A newly posted advertisement for the role says the successful candidate will be “responsible for embedding the Aboriginal voice in strategy, plans and programs” across government.
“This role will focus on leading truth-telling to anchor healing and celebrate culture.”
Despite Australia’s resounding rejection of a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament, this high-level government role will be responsible for ‘developing an incubator team for future reform initiatives’ around ‘truth, treaty and voice’.
Truth, treaty and voice are the three pillars of the Uluru Declaration from the Heart. Although the Voice was considered the first path to take, the “culmination point of the agenda” is actually the development of treaty and truth-telling mechanisms.
The NSW Premier’s office hires an executive director to lead government on ‘truth and healing’ in wake of failed Voice to Parliament referendum
The role is reserved for Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander candidates only, and carries a salary of up to $339,000
NSW Premier Chris Minns has now been accused of ‘stealth implementing’ this by Prue Macsween – against the wishes of the Australian public.
NSW Nationals leader Dugald Saunders told 2GB’s Ben Fordham he only heard about the role when the program alerted him to it on Thursday, saying it seemed like a particularly short recruitment window.
The vacancy was posted on October 20 and closes on November 12.
Australians went to the polls on October 14 and voted 61 percent to 39 percent against a constitutional vote.
Throughout the campaign, the treaty and the truth were among the main concerns among the general public, as was the lack of information about the scope of the advisory committee.
Mr. Saunders warned that the short application period could indicate the department was “looking at people” for the position, and pointed out that the salary would be higher than what some ministers in the Minns government earn.
Australians went to the polls on October 14 and voted against a constitutional vote by 61 percent to 39 percent
Truth, treaty and voice are the three pillars of the Uluru Declaration from the Heart. While the Voice was considered the first path to take, the “culmination point of the agenda” is actually the development of treaty and truth-telling mechanisms.
“It’s a very strange moment to appoint an executive director for Truth and Healing when we just had a referendum that was a very definitive answer,” he said.
‘The Prime Minister has said nothing about that at all.
“Right now, cost of living is everything. Right now, telling the truth and healing is not what we should be focusing on.”
READ MORE: Lidia Thorpe’s five-point treaty and vision of truth
In August, a similar Victorian government vacancy, exclusively revealed by Ny Breaking Australia, sparked outrage and a warning shot from Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price that the high salary could be an indicator of what would happen to the Voice commission.
The role – Assistant Secretary of the First Peoples State Relations Group – would provide executive leadership and strategy to the Victorian Government to create practical solutions to emerging policy issues
Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander people were strongly encouraged to apply for the position, which will have a fixed term of up to five years
Then-Premier Dan Andrews’ department advertised a role that would help promote treaties and truth-telling in Victoria, with a whopping pay package of as much as $533,431.
The role of Assistant Secretary of the First Peoples State Relations Group would provide the Victorian Government with executive leadership and strategy to create practical solutions to emerging policy issues.
The ad described the work as an “exciting opportunity to be part of progress on First People cultural rights, land justice, self-determination, treaty and truth.”
The successful candidate would earn a total compensation package of anywhere between $410,018 and $533,431, depending on their experience and negotiations.
Victoria is relatively far along in the treaty talks, the furthest in Australia after starting the formal process in 2016.
Even still, insiders say the state is at least a decade away from finalizing treaties or reaching a solution.