Albo unsurprised by Voice ‘radicals’
ANTHONY Albanese is confident the Voice to parliament is not dead in the water despite widespread criticism from Indigenous activists at Invasion Day rallies.
The Prime Minister hit back on Friday, telling reporters that he wasn’t surprised “radicals” were opposed to the voice, given it was a “mainstream proposal”.
“It is about reconciliation. It‘s not a radical proposition. So I’m not surprised that some radicals are opposed to it. Because this is a mainstream proposition,” he said in Tasmania.
“This is a modest and gracious request. For reconciliation by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.”
Tens of thousands of people took part in Invasion Day rallies, with many of the keynote speakers using the platform to campaign against the Voice.
Mr Albanese said it was unrealistic to think Australians would have “homogenous views” on a First Nation’s voice.
“Now, I very firmly believe that the Uluru Statement from the Heart was very clear about the priority that Indigenous people, after hundreds of consultations, came together and they said they wanted Voice as the first thing,“he said.
“Now, if we don’t recognise Aboriginal and Torres Islands peoples in our constitution this year, when Australians will have the opportunity to do so, when will we? When will we?”
Research conducted by the Referendum Working Group suggested 80 per cent of Indigenous people surveyed supported the reform.
Pat Anderson, one of the architects of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, said they weren’t going to “chuck in the towel” due to the criticism at the rallies.
“That’s fine, it’s a democracy. Hopefully, they will be convinced over the next little while,” she told ABC Radio.
“A lot of Aboriginal people, the people that we spoke to in the dialogues and who we continue to speak to – are in fact the voiceless (and) they don’t have the huge megaphone that was used yesterday.”
The Prime Minister has sought to sharpen his pitch in recent days amid political pressure for the government to release further detail about the reform.
After months of criticism about the lack of detail, Liberal leader Peter Dutton accepted Mr Albanese’s invitation to attend the next meeting of the Voice’s working group.
The Nationals have previously announced it would be opposing the referendum. Country Liberal senator and Warlpiri-celtic woman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is expected to be one of the faces of the “vote no” campaign.
Meanwhile the Greens are facing a split within its ranks after Indigenous spokeswoman Lidia Thorpe signalled she could not support the voice unless she was “satisfied it guarantees First Nations’ sovereignty is not ceded”.
A vote on the referendum is expected in the second half of the year.