Opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has offered an olive branch to the Yes camp ahead of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum.
Senator Price, an outspoken No campaigner, said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese lost support for The Voice among Australians because he was unwilling to compromise.
She said the only way the Yes campaign would succeed is by amending the October 14 constitutional referendum so that it is “simply about recognition and the vote disappears.”
“I think the Prime Minister has made it very, very clear that he is going the whole hog,” she said at the press conference. The Australian’s second Great Voice debate.
‘He takes everyone with him. And I think he needs to take responsibility for the divisions he has caused within our nation.
“This is the most divisive referendum we have faced in the history of our country.”
Senator Price has urged the Prime Minister to change the referendum to include recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but leave out the vote.
Mr Albanese has repeatedly said the Voice will be an advisory body to Parliament, allowing First Nations people to be involved in a discussion about the laws that affect them and what is needed in their communities.
But the wording that will be added to the Constitution, while very deliberate and precise, could be tested by the Supreme Court, whose ruling Parliament would then have to follow.
According to the Parliamentary Education Office: ‘The primary function of the High Court of Australia is to interpret the Australian Constitution and settle disputes over its meaning.’
Some No proponents argue that the wording could have far-reaching consequences that would be extremely difficult to remove.
Senator Price’s compromise to recognize Aboriginal people in the constitution without mentioning the Stem is seen by some as more constitutionally stable ground.
Speaking to the national press club this week, the Country Liberal Party senator argued that none of the words ‘advice’, ‘opinion’ or ‘opinion’ appear in the proposed amendment to the constitution. Instead, the word ‘representations’ is used.
“Nowhere in the question that will be put to Australians, or in the proposed chapter we are voting on, do the words ‘advice’, ‘opinion’ or ‘opinion’ appear,” Senator Nampijinpa Price said.
‘If the Prime Minister had really intended this body to be a simple advisory body… then that would have been set out in the proposed chapter.
“You see, words matter. The words proposed to amend the Constitution of our country are of great importance.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the Voice would only be an advisory body
Senator Nampijinpa Price also leveled accusations that the No campaign is “fear-mongering” about the Voice, arguing that their concerns stem from comments made by the government’s own hand-picked advisers.
She cited comments from Yes campaigners Teela Reid and Thomas Mayo about how the Voice would work.
“What we do know is that many of the Voice’s key proponents hold very different views from those of the government.
“No matter what the government, the advocates and the activists say about what The Voice will or won’t do, the fact is they don’t know,” Ms. Price said.
‘They don’t know who will be on The Voice. They don’t know what they will make their statements about.
‘They talk about it as the first step towards reaching a treaty, reparations, compensation and a mechanism to punish politicians. Presumably this means politicians like me who aren’t afraid to stand up to them.’
Ms Nampijinpa Price said it was “backward, neo-colonial, racial stereotyping” to suggest all Indigenous Australians should think the same and support the same policies.
“Whatever the outcome on October 14, it is imperative that we examine the failures of our past to understand how we can do better. Our nation’s rulebook belongs to every Australian. And it is not a document that should be taken for granted or compromised for the sake of atmosphere.
“To pass such an important amendment, the Prime Minister owes the Australian people a clear, concise and realistic demonstration of how his vote will deliver the results all good Australians want for our marginalized.”