Voice to Parliament: Liberal Jenny Ware’s embarrassing move in panel with Abbott and Hildebrand

A Liberal MP has caused a stir for failing to include First Nations people on a panel she organized to help decide what position she would take on the Voice to Parliament.

Jenny Ware organized the event in her electorate of Hughes in southern Sydney and urged as many of her constituents as possible to attend.

She invited former Prime Minister Tony Abbott to advocate the ‘No’ campaign, while journalist and commentator Joe Hildebrand promoted the ‘Yes’ campaign.

But near the end of the panel, Ms. Ware was interrupted by a heckler who said, “Can we please hear from a First Nations person?”

In response, she said, “We don’t have time. We simply don’t have time for it.’

Hildebrand told Daily Mail Australia that he “heard how it came across” to the public, but noted that it was “definitely not meant to be.”

“She just wanted to keep up with the times… the whole night was actually very warm and very respectful.”

At the same time, an Indigenous man named Phil came onstage and said, “I think you need to hear from an Aboriginal’s side or view, okay?”

There was cheers and applause from the crowd as the man told the crowd that he “came from an era where there was discrimination.”

“You’re here Joe, Tony, talking about the Constitution. It’s a system word. It has been harmful to my people,” he said in an impassioned address to the crowd.

‘The truth hurts.’

Viewers said the ‘yes’ vote campaign would be ‘crazy’ not to use the footage, while others said it ‘proved exactly why the vote is needed’.

Near the end of the panel, when Mrs. Ware was speaking directly to the crowd, she was interrupted by a heckler who said, “Can we please hear from a First Nations person.”

At the same time, an Indigenous man came onstage and said, “I think you need to hear from an Aboriginal’s side or view, okay?”

And there we have it. Almost as if they wrote it to demonstrate why we need a voice enshrined in our constitution. Just so Voice can’t just be silenced… when it’s inconvenient,” someone said.

Another wrote, “This tells you everything you need to know about the no vote.”

‘Incredible! No chance. For two excruciating hours, two white men argue over The Voice. An Aboriginal man stands up to speak and is told he has no time to hear his voice.’

Despite the backlash online, it’s clear Phil had warm conversations with both Hildebrand and Abbott after the night came to a close.

Mr Abbott supports the constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians but has been an outspoken critic of the Voice to Parliament, arguing that one section of society would gain more influence over government than others.

“I think it’s wrong in principle, I’m sure it would be disastrous in practice,” he told Sky News.

She invited former Prime Minister Tony Abbott to advocate the ‘No’ campaign, while commentator Joe Hildebrand promoted the ‘Yes’ campaign

Hildebrand, meanwhile, is a passionate advocate for The Voice and believes it is a strong step to close the gap.

The Liberal Party will officially only support constitutional recognition and will oppose the vote. Ken Wyatt, the former coalition minister for Indigenous Affairs, left the party in protest.

Julian Leeser, the shadow opposition attorney general, also resigned over the decision.

Ms Ware, who takes a backseat, has long said there isn’t enough information to make a decision.

“The Albanian-Labour government has not answered many of Peter Dutton’s questions…that’s why I think part of my role as an MP is to represent my constituents,” she said.

“Do they have enough information about both the yes and no campaigns?”