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The Prime Minister is being urged to correct his path towards enshrining an Indigenous Voice in parliament in the constitution, amid warnings of dire consequences if he fails.
Shadow Attorney General Julian Leeser used a speech on Tuesday to outline a path for cooperation between the government and the opposition for a successful referendum.
Leeser said there was a need to focus on results to improve education, health, housing and security for indigenous people.
He said that while some suggested the Voice would have raised the alarm ahead of a spike in crime in Alice Springs, they ignored pleas from community elders.
‘There were indigenous and community leaders raising the alarm. They were asking for help, but the government wasn’t listening,” Leeser said.
The prime minister is being urged to correct his course to enshrine an indigenous voice in parliament in the constitution, amid warnings of dire consequences if he fails.
While some have suggested that the Voice may have raised the alarm earlier than a spike in crime in Alice Springs, Julian Leeser says governments ignored pleas from community elders.
‘Voices presuppose that people listen. Yes, voices matter, but listening matters too.
“I think that requires a real change in the way we approach these issues at the local, regional and national levels.”
He said there was a need to move away from the ‘Canberra knows best’ mentality, to listen to what communities are saying.
Leeser said Conservatives were not opposed to the Voice’s principle, which he personally supports, but wanted the proper processes and details laid out.
“What matters now is that we listen to each other and correct our course,” he said.
“We must get this right because the prospect of failure is unthinkable.”
The bill outlining the wording will go before parliament at the end of March, with the process ending around June, once parliamentary committees have had time to report.
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Shadow Attorney General Julian Leeser said the focus needed to be on results to improve education, health, housing and security for indigenous people.
Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said the intention was for him “to be able to speak to parliament and the executive” as called for in the Uluru Declaration.
The government has indicated that the referendum will take place between October and December.
There has been criticism that allowing the Voice to advise ministers and parliament could provide more scope for the constitutional change to be challenged in the High Court.
But Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said the intention was for him “to be able to speak to parliament and the executive” as called for in the Uluru Declaration.
“People have been litigating questions about our constitution since the Federation, and the fact that it’s possible to point to possible constitutional litigation I don’t think should deter anyone,” he told ABC radio.
Meanwhile, social sector organizations are coming together to support a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous Voice in parliament, saying it would help Australia take a step towards a better future.
The Australian Council for Social Services, Oxfam, the Fred Hollows Foundation and First Nations advocacy organization ANTAR are launching the ‘Allies for Uluru coalition’.
A coalition of Australia’s biggest sports codes, including the NRL and AFL, will also reportedly come together to support the ‘yes’ campaign, though neither would immediately confirm they would back Voice.
A Rugby Australia spokesperson said they were “broadly supportive” of Voice, adding that they would continue to work with stakeholders on a more detailed position.
The AFL said it was also in a consultation process, and that its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Council would make its recommendation to the commission.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said Voice went against the principle that people are “equal before the law” and that liberals should oppose it.