Media Doorstop, Parliament House 7 August 2023
Senator Nampijinpa Price stopped in Parliament House to speak to Press Gallery Journalists
7 August 2023
Subjects; Garma Festival, Land Council Inquiry, the Nationals and Voice to Parliament.
Senator Nampijinpa Price:
After this weekend's announcements I think it's quite disappointing that the Prime Minister is quite happy to, you know, he evidently this referendum is primarily about him, his legacy, what he wants to leave behind. He never wanted to take the bipartisan approach with this or take any advice to perhaps separate the referendum into two questions, that being one, recognition and considering legislating a voice to Parliament. This is entirely about him. He's saying there is no other way that we're going to get constitutional recognition, which is quite disappointing really, because effectively he's saying it's his way or it's the highway and the other disappointing factor is the issue of, you know, Indigenous voices, not legitimate to the Prime Minister unless they are constitutionally enshrined. That's what I'd like to know, because there are many Indigenous Australians who have very good answers to some of the issues that they currently confronted with. But instead, the Prime Minister is ignoring these voices. I mean, he's having he's had a go at Peter Dutton for not attending Garma. Both myself and Mr Dutton have been there previously.
I would rather go up to Yolngu country when there isn’t all the fanfare of a festival taking place that cost almost three grand for an adult to attend for four days, primary school student can pay $1,650 to attend Garma. I would rather go when there isn't the fanfare when you can actually sit down and speak to people without cameras on. You know, this is what I urge the Prime Minister to do. Go back to Alice Springs, go there for more than 3 hours, speak to the women, speak to the children of Yipirinya school and ask them why accommodation for them and their staff would be wonderful in order to support them to get an education in a safe environment where there are adults that actually will be able to care for them so they're not at risk of going home to a household where there's possibility of being abused in one way, shape or form. And ask them what their needs are instead of relying on this idea of a constitutionally enshrined voice to act upon anything. I urge the Prime Minister to do this. He's the most powerful person in the country. He has the power to make a difference now, but instead he's holding out because he wants to leave behind a legacy. This is shameful and it's utterly disappointing. And to continue to come back and put it on the Coalition. He has the power. Minister Burney has the power. She has had the proposal for Yipirinya School sitting on her desk for over 12 months now.
Traditional owners have been calling out, have been contacting the minister about governance issues. The fact that, you know, these powerful organisations the land councils that are all behind the voice of Parliament and yet they cannot listen to the traditional owners they’re supposed to represent. And when the traditional owners reach out to the minister, Minister Burney, all she does is refer them back to the land councils, well, we need to act and we need to act now. This week I am asking the Senate to support me and my motion so that we can hold an inquiry into land councils and bodies such as this to determine whether their governance structures are doing the right thing, their accountability is doing the right thing, whether they are representing the views of traditional owners effectively or not whether the services that they're being funded by the federal government are delivering. These are the things we should be doing right now, not this pie in the sky Voice to Parliament, that we don't know what it actually is because apparently it's up to Parliament once the referendum has been passed to determine what this thing is. All I've heard is a whole lot of hot air from the Prime Minister up over the weekend at Garma. He's had several pats on the back. Of course, he's on safe ground, but he won't go to communities when they're crying out, when they have answers to their problems. But he does not want to hear these people. He only wants to hear them, Indigenous Australians, if our voice is constitutionally enshrined. And that is a pity because as people suffering right now and he has the power to act.
Question:
Senator, support is slipping in the polls according to the latest poll in the paper today, those most likely to support the Voice have high incomes, university degrees, renters and the young. While those who oppose it don't have tertiary education, retirees, mortgages and people who own their home outright. What do you read into that?
Senator Nampijinpa Price:
Well, I read that your politics works for some those affluent members of our society who feel like they can pause for a minute and think about things other than how they're going to pay their next electricity bill, feel somewhat guilty about what's happened in our country's history, whereas everyone else wants to get on with things. Everyone else wants what's best for all of us, including Indigenous Australians, but don't want to be divided along the lines of race. But they also want to know if I can pay their bill at the end of the day. And right now cost of living is going straight through the roof. Australians are struggling and then they're being asked to make a huge change to our constitution based on race, on the Voice, which has no, you know, little to no detail whatsoever. And Australians feel like they've been taken for a ride. This is why the polls are showing that there is lack of support for the constitutionally enshrining a voice to Parliament. So, you know, the sooner we get this referendum done, the better and Australians can move on. Perhaps what we can only hope that the Government can actually focus on, you know, decreasing electricity costs for everyday Australians and making sure that mum and dad can pay their bills, can send their kids to school and feel comfortable by doing so. I'm forward to when this referendum arrives and we can get it over and done with, to be honest.
Question:
What did you make of Andrew Gee's comments about Coalition MPs opposing the voice for political reasons?
Senator Nampijinpa Price:
Yeah look Mr Gee has got his issues, he used the excuse of the Voice to make an exit from the National Party. Prior to his exit I’ve hardly even had a conversation with him. He certainly didn't bring the voice issue up with me.
Follow Up:
He said that, you know, coming back to this term of parliament, that the Nationals party room had changed.
Senator Nampijinpa Price
Well, the only change that was made is that there was an Indigenous woman in the party room, the first Nationals Indigenous woman in the National party room. So he obviously didn't like that change very much. So what does that say about Andrew Gee? I’d say Andrew Gee needs to go back and concentrate on his electorate of Calare because speaking to Indigenous people in his electorate of Calare they've told me they do not support the voice, that they feel that they've been sidelined and perhaps it is his job to be more concerned about his electorate than this voice referendum.
Question:
There's some suggestion that the Prime Minister's open to meeting with Peter Dutton to discuss the voice. Do you think anything's going to come from that? You've both sides seem so entrenched at the moment now.
Senator Nampijinpa Price:
I think it's come a little bit, you know, a little too late for the Prime Minister's to suggest that he now wants to speak to Mr Dutton. I mean, what would he be trying to suggest? Is he looking to now not enshrine in the voice but instead legislate if that's what he's talking about? Well, I think that's the only breakthrough that we could possibly consider going forward. But otherwise, you know, I think it's full steam ahead. He's made that fairly clear. He also, you know, is not shying away from Treaty. He's changed his position is, you know, one day he's up, one day he's down. We're not quite sure where the Prime Minister is or where he wants to be from day to day. So, it's you know, it's a bit like Forrest Gump. You know, every day is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. So, yeah, it'll be interesting to see what the Prime Minister comes forward with if he's happy to drop the referendum. Well, that would be good. Leave it alone. Make constitutional recognition an issue for another day. Perhaps. Maybe legislate a model of a voice and demonstrate to the Australian people that it can be effective. If any of those things are on the table, perhaps we might listen, but otherwise, I say good luck to the Prime Minister.
Question:
Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney this morning described questioning in Question Time as divisive. Would you agree with that assessment from yourself and your problems?
Senator Nampijinpa Price:
I'd suggest that this referendum is the most divisive referendum our nation's ever experienced. I mean, it's you know, for a country who has done so well in terms of, you know, wanting what's best for Indigenous Australians. In 1967, Australians overwhelmingly supported Indigenous Australians towards equality. This referendum has taken us backward, I believe, and in doing so I think it's put Minister Linda Burney in a difficult position because she can't answer questions in Question Time. So that's what I think the Minister has so difficult the opportunity to answer questions directly for the Australian people and she's just not doing that. She keeps reading off a script and she can't seem to find the answers that Australians are looking for. So, I'd say it is a difficult time for the Minister and I still would love the opportunity to personally have a televised debate with the Minister, a shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians and the Minister for Indigenous Australians. I think it's an important issue going forward for this referendum. We should have the opportunity and again I'll put that on the table for the Minister for Indigenous Australians. Thanks.
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