Huge clash erupts on Q+A over The Voice to Parliament: ‘Corrupt’

Two opposing Voice to Parliament advocates have feuded over the upcoming referendum and its comparisons to a now-defunct Indigenous advisory body.

The row over ABC’s Q+A program began when Larissa Baldwin-Roberts, CEO of activist group GetUp, exposed Senator Paul Scarr’s comparisons between The Voice and the abolished Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC).

ATSIC, established by the Hawke government, was abolished in 2004 by then Prime Minister John Howard, who said “the experiment in elected representation for Indigenous people has been a failure” due to a number of controversies.

“Why would any government take it down?” the Liberal National Party senator said after interjections from Ms Baldwin-Roberts and presenter Patricia Karvelas.

“Because it was corrupt,” he continued.

Ms. Baldwin-Roberts tried to intervene, but Senator Scarr went further, saying that “ATSIC was abolished on a partisan basis because it wasn’t working.”

The activist responded that the senator’s ATSIC claim was “nonsense”, which angered him.

“You can talk about misinformation, but you have to be careful when you come back and accuse other people of saying nonsense,” as Ms Baldwin-Roberts continued to try to interrupt.

“So if we want to have a respectful debate about this, as presenter Patricia Karvelas said, ATSIC was abolished because it was corrupt, ineffective and did not represent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.”

The activist immediately shot back, saying it was “the story you’re telling.”

“One of the things you hear particularly from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is the last representative body where we felt like we could even remotely talk to each other and to the government was ATSIC,” she said.

“There were some really good parts about ATSIC and the stories being told about it are not a fair representation of what happened.”

She then accused the senator of “scaremongering” before the presenter intervened with a question of her own for Mr Scarr.

“If there are corrupt MPs, why not call for the abolition of parliament?” Ms. Karvelas asked, drawing laughter and applause from the live audience.

The activist questioned the stories surrounding ATSIC. Photo: ABC

Senator Scarr did not have time to answer the question in front of actor and activist Madeleine West.

“The argument we’re making at this table, even though we’re all here and we want to spread facts, is not much different from what turns people away from the issue,” she said.

‘…there is so much discussion, so much gossip, because this is an issue that should unite us, but it still divides us.

“And I feel like the Australian public wants to do what’s right, they want to make sure people are heard. But in the same way, if we are confronted with it, if we are confused, if we do not understand it, we will return to conservatism.”