EXCLUSIVE
A former Northern Territory chief minister who returned land to traditional Aboriginal owners more than three decades ago has revealed he is voting ‘no’ on the vote.
Marshall Perron’s Country Liberal Party government returned what was then the Katherine Gorge National Park to the Jawoyn people in 1989.
The 292,000 hectares of subtropical wilderness was later renamed Nitmiluk National Park, with the decade-long process taking place despite fierce opposition from non-Aboriginals in the nearby town of Katherine.
His government also advanced the process of allowing the Arrarrkbi people to occupy and use the Cobourg Peninsula, northeast of Darwin.
Mr Perron, now 81, said the idea of including a voice to parliament in the constitution wrongly implied that Aboriginal people were not being listened to.
“I’m a hard no on the Voice,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
Former Northern Territory Chief Minister Marshall Perron (left), who returned land to traditional Aboriginal owners more than three decades ago, has revealed he is voting ‘no’ on the vote. Marshall Perron’s Country Liberal Party government returned what was then known as Katherine Gorge National Park to the Jawoyn people in 1989 (he is pictured with Phyllis Winyjorrotj and Jeffrey McDonald)
The 292,000 hectares of tropical wilderness was later renamed Nitmiluk National Park (pictured), with the decade-long process taking place despite fierce opposition from non-Aboriginals in the nearby town of Katherine.
‘There is no need for this to be in the Constitution.
“I see no case for constitutional change to establish a vote that in itself implies that the gap will never be closed.”
“I believe the case, or argument, that we have never listened to Aboriginal people or consulted them about what they want is just absurd.”
Mr Perron, best known for introducing the world’s first voluntary euthanasia legislation in 1995, supports the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the constitution – the same position as federal opposition leader Peter Dutton.
But he feared that embedding a Voice advisory body into the constitution would make race a much more prominent part of Australia’s founding document.
Although race is already referenced in the Constitution, the Voice to Parliament would grant special privileges based solely on race.
‘What also upsets a lot of Australians is that the people you often encounter on these issues are living a Western lifestyle, very plainly, having a job and whatnot, while all the real issues involved in this divide are in remote , play Aboriginal environments,” Mr Perron said. said.
Mr Perron, who led the Northern Territory from 1988 to 1995, said a constitutionally entrenched Vote would be dominated by activists with little connection to remote Aboriginal communities where poverty is higher.
“The Voice will not be made up of people from remote areas, apart from a few people,” he said.
This means that the concerns of Aboriginal people in Western Arnhem Land and Central Australia may be overlooked.
“Whatever the composition, it will be largely urban or semi-urban Aboriginal people who don’t have the problems they have in Maningrida, Papunya or Yuendumu,” Mr Perron said.
‘These places are generally sad places to visit.
“I say that with regret after being in government for 21 years, being Prime Minister for seven years and doing my damnedest to do what we could.”
Mr Perron, now 81, said the idea of including a voice to parliament in the constitution wrongly implied that Aboriginal people were not being listened to.
Mr Perron, who now lives on the Sunshine Coast, said there was now an industry of people who identify as Aboriginal who had not tackled poverty.
“I think that’s without a doubt,” he said.
‘At the last census there was a huge increase in the number of people ticking the box identifying as Aboriginal, when previously this was probably not the case.
“I suppose you could be kind and say, ‘Well, they’re doing that because the atmosphere has changed and they now feel more comfortable identifying as Aboriginal,’ but I think there’s a degree of opportunism there in it.’
In the 2021 census, the national share of people identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander rose to 3.2 per cent, up from 2.8 per cent in 2016.
Their ranks grew to 812,728 people, from 649,173 people five years earlier.
In the Northern Territory, 26.3 percent of residents identify as Aboriginal, while this part of Australia is home to more remote communities.
Mr Perron questioned why people who identify as Indigenous and lived comfortably should be entitled to special treatment.
“If you see someone who makes $150,000 a year and lives quite comfortably, why on earth would they need to buy cheap tickets to the Opera House,” he said.
‘I don’t think it’s unbelievable.
Mr Perron, who led the Northern Territory from 1988 to 1995, said a constitutionally enshrined voice would be dominated by activists with little connection to remote, Aboriginal communities where poverty is higher (pictured are women in Maningrida in Western Arnhem Land).
He feared the concerns of Voice activists in urban areas (Sydney Yes rally pictured) would overshadow the needs of people in Central Australia in places like Papunya or Yuendumu.
“Some no-voters, I think, will say to themselves, ‘Why should these people, who live the same lifestyle and the same income as me, be entitled to certain benefits that I am not entitled to?’ ‘
On closing the gap, Mr Perron said indigenous people living in remote areas, often in overcrowded housing, had to make the choice to move to an urban center.
“There are cultural issues involved and as long as we support Aboriginal people in preserving their cultural practices because it is important to them, we must understand that unless they emulate our way of life, the gap will never be closed,” he said .
Mr Perron, best known for introducing the world’s first voluntary euthanasia laws in 1995, supports the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the constitution – the same position as federal opposition leader Peter Dutton. But he feared that embedding a Voice advisory body into the constitution would make race a much more prominent part of Australia’s founding document (pictured Nitmiluk National Park).