Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Grogan for the supplementary. The Referendum Working Group is made up of First Nations people from across the country who have been working on constitutional recognition for many, many years—people like Ken Wyatt, the former Liberal minister, professors Marcia Langton and Megan Davis, Noel Pearson, Pat Anderson, Thomas Mayo, Tom Calma, Dale Agius, Pat Turner and Tony McAvoy, amongst others. These are the First Nations representatives that the government has been listening to and taking advice from.

This process has been chaired by Minister Linda Burney and the special envoy, Senator Dodson, as well as the assistant minister, Senator McCarthy. This has been a rigorous and comprehensive process. Some of the best legal minds in the country have been looking at this issue for several months now, people like the former High Court judge Justice Kenneth Hayne and constitutional experts Professor Twomey, Professor Williams and Cheryl Saunders. Australians can be confident that the work has been done to ensure that this is a voice that works. (Time expired)