Jacinta Price promises to launch an investigation into government spending on Indigenous affairs
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has pledged to lead an inquiry into government spending on indigenous affairs.
The Northern Territory senator and no campaigner made the pledge at a Fair Australia event held at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Center on Monday evening.
Her comments come after it was revealed the National Indigenous Australians Agency’s total budget for 2022-2023 was $4.5 billion.
The agency is responsible for leading the development of Australian Government policies, programs and services to improve the lives of Indigenous Australians.
‘We’re going to do what we haven’t done yet. We’re going to find out what the billions of dollars are being spent on,” Price said.
“We’re going to say, ‘Who else is responsible for this? We know that governments have absolutely made mistakes in the past. We have to do better on both sides.’
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (pictured) has promised to investigate government spending on indigenous affairs
Speaking to hundreds of ‘No’ supporters at the Fair Australia event, Senator Price explained why she did not believe the country needed an Indigenous voice in Parliament.
“We don’t want a future where our children aren’t proud to call themselves Australian… that’s not the Australia we grew up with,” she said.
“These companies are funded to implement reconciliation, while the rest of us are just wandering around trying to be reconciled,” she said, referring to companies such as the major supermarkets and sporting codes that have thrown their support behind the Voice.
Senator Price then listed her achievements, most notably serving as a councilor for Alice Springs, and her current role as Minister for Shadow Aboriginal Affairs under Peter Dutton.
“We absolutely did not need a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament to achieve these things,” she said.
“We need to restore the structures that already exist, rather than muddying the waters and adding even more bureaucracy and shoving it into our constitution.”
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Warren Mundine (right) spoke to hundreds of ‘No’ supporters at the Fair Australia event in Perth
Fellow prominent ‘No’ campaigner Warren Mundine called the upcoming vote the “most important in Australian history”.
‘Do we want a country divided on the basis of race? Or do we want a country that all comes together… to be our better selves, an Australia that welcomes people from all over the world?’ Mr. Mundine asked the crowd.
‘The Yes campaign focuses on the past…but we’re talking about now.’
“I encourage everyone to follow Australians, help on that day and vote no to division.”
The Voice to Parliament referendum will take place on October 14.
Senator Price called on Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney earlier in July to conduct an audit of government spending on First Nations people.
Ms Price said if she were in government and working as Indigenous Affairs Minister, she would conduct a “forensic audit” of all Indigenous spending to ensure every dollar was spent wisely.
She said such a task would root out where money is being used effectively and give the government an option to reallocate money that is not delivering results to grassroots projects that need funding.