Garth Hamilton (Groom, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I refer to recent polling on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. We saw from RedBridge polling last month that the 'no' campaign was leading 56 to 44, and, worse for the 'yes' campaign, when people had read both official pamphlets that increased to 59 to 41. What was once an issue of a lack of detail for the 'yes' campaign has become an issue of the presence of detail: the more people find out, the more they reject it. I see Newspoll is now showing that there is a majority in neither the popular vote nor the state vote for this. Australians are divided on the issue of race, and I think this is a terrible outcome. No matter where you stand on the issue, it's terrible to see us divided on this issue.

But there is one place where there is 100 per cent support for the Voice, and that's where Labor and the Independents meet. I can't hold it against the Labor members. They're told what they have to do. They can't object to their position. But the Independents have chosen to be Labor's voice in their electorates, and you have to ask why they're doing this despite popular support falling. Popular support is falling, and yet they continue to insist on being Labor's voice. That's because they're not here to represent you; they're here to change you. That is the Independents' view. They came to this place pretending to be great community advocates. They've been revealed to be nothing more than Labor's voice in their electorates. I'm very proud to represent my electorate and the views of my electorate, and I'll continue to do so.