Labor and Greens MLAs today confirmed their support to enshrine an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Federal Parliament in the Constitution, as a key action sought in the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

“Constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is long overdue, and the establishment of the Voice goes beyond symbolism to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in the heart of our democratic institutions,” Chief Minister Andrew Barr said.

Mr Barr introduced an executive motion that the Legislative Assembly reaffirm its support for the Voice, commit to delivering Treaty and Truth, and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.

Mr Barr hopes the ACT will record the highest vote in favour of enshrining the Voice to Parliament in the referendum later this year.

The government will develop a community awareness campaign to educate the Canberra community about what establishing a Voice to Parliament involves, and why this is an important issue.

Last week, Mr Barr noted, every State Premier and Territory Chief Minister around Australia – from both sides of politics – supported a Voice to Parliament, as an important step towards reconciliation.

Canberra Liberals

The Canberra Liberals demurred. Opposition leader Elizabeth Lee would not back Mr Barr’s clauses committing to Voice, Truth, or Treaty.

Instead, her amendment noted that the ACT’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities had diverse views about the Voice to Parliament, “from those who are firmly in favour of it, to those who are firmly against it, to those who are still considering this important question,” Ms Lee said.

Several members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body and, more broadly, of the Indigenous community had told the Canberra Liberals that they were not aware of Mr Barr’s executive motion today, or approached for their views and engagement on the Voice.

The ATSIEB advises the government about improving the lives of Indigenous Canberrans, and reconciliation.

Ms Lee called on the ACT Government to consult and listen to that community, and to report back to the Assembly by the first sitting day in June.

Her motion was defeated.

“The implication of this amendment is to suggest that there isn’t overwhelming support within the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community for a Voice,” Mr Barr said. “I don’t accept that. That’s just not true. There is, and it is clear, over years.

“It’s not unanimous, and there is no issue in the world that has unanimous agreement of every single person. If the barometer or the benchmark here is that until there is unanimous agreement, an issue can’t proceed, then nothing will ever happen. If not now, then when?”

Mr Barr said that further rounds of consultation on this issue were not required.

“We have already had six years of debate and discussion.”

The Uluru Statement from the Heart was the result of regional dialogues and meetings (including a Canberra dialogue in May 2017), culminating in the First Nations National Constitutional Convention at Uluru in 2017, followed by the Voice co-design process involving more than 100 meetings (including in the ACT), Mr Barr stated.

“Our local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community has been engaged on this issue for many years,” Mr Barr said. “It is somewhat insulting to suggest that at this point, we have to go back and consult again on an issue [about which] an already clear view has been expressed.”

Ms Lee denied that her amendment was racist or playing politics.

“It is very concerning that members of the ACT’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community have reached out to us very frustrated that they haven’t been listened to by this ACT Labor-Greens motion; in fact, that they did not even know this motion was coming into the Assembly,” Ms Lee said.

Ms Lee said that Mr Barr had failed to acknowledge or address that since the Voice had become an issue for a referendum, it had not been discussed with local communities.

“To then have our amendment which sought to ensure that their voices are listened to voted down by every Member from the Labor and Greens parties is incredibly disappointing.”

The Canberra Liberals were open to any initiative that would improve the lives of Canberra’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, Ms Lee said.

“For this Chief Minister to bully or demonise people who are genuinely saying ‘I want to actually have a good long think about it’ is unbecoming.”

Some Canberra Liberal MLAs held diverse views on the Voice, while others had not made up their mind yet. That, Ms Lee said, reflected the wider community.

“We will continue to have those discussions. We know how important an issue this is. I certainly am not going to put pressure on my MLAs to make a snap decision on something so important.”

Ms Lee was concerned by Mr Barr’s ambition to have the highest ‘Yes’ vote in the country.

“The referendum is not about one particular leader of a government achieving the highest vote,” she said. “This is not a competition. It is about making sure that every Australian has a say on a very important issue.”

That Mr Barr had made the ‘Yes’ vote “a personal crusade”, Ms Lee said, “speaks volumes for where the Chief Minister’s priorities are – and that certainly is not about ensuring that the voices of Canberra’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are being heard”.

The Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services (RoGS), published last week, showed that Indigenous incarceration had increased over the last decade, Ms Lee noted.

• ROGS: Indigenous overrepresentation in ACT justice system worsening (3 February)

She believes the government should fund improvements in that area. “Why isn’t the ACT Labor-Greens government actually looking at some of the substantive issues, so that we can improve real outcomes for people who genuinely need that support?”

ACT Greens

ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury explained why his party supported the Voice to Parliament, alongside Truth and Treaty.

“The ACT Greens are strongly committed to justice for the First Nations people of Australia,” Mr Rattenbury said. “We are committed to Truth, Treaty, and Voice, the three actions sought in the Statement from the Heart. Enshrining a First Nations Voice to Parliament in the constitution is an important step in this process, but we are keenly aware that a Voice to Parliament in itself will not be enough.

“The First Nations tribes were Australia’s first sovereign Nations, and this sovereignty was never ceded. This land was forcibly taken from First Nations people and this injustice has not yet been addressed.

“To respond to this injustice, the Statement from the Heart emphasises the need for re-shaping our relationships and being truthful about our history, alongside implementing major constitutional and structural reforms. The Statement calls for a process of agreement-making (working towards a treaty) and of truth-telling about our history.

“A Voice to Parliament cannot be implemented in isolation and must be progressed in conjunction with efforts to further the goals of Treaty and Truth-telling.

“The Australian Greens this week confirmed their support for a Voice to Parliament, but we are all aware that this was not an easy decision. This is because the Greens have listened to the diverse views in the community and understand these different perspectives. Some First Nations people strongly believe that a Voice to Parliament should not be progressed until there is a Treaty and that the offer of an advisory role is not enough, while others believe a Voice to Parliament is an important first step towards a Treaty. And, of course, there are a range of views in between.

“We support this motion today, as we see a Voice to Parliament as a step in the right direction. However, we will continue to highlight the need for Truth and Treaty. These broader actions cannot be forgotten or compromised because they are more challenging.”