Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (NT, Country Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Wong. Australians were prepared to recognise Indigenous Australians, but Prime Minister Albanese instead insisted on attaching the Voice to Labor's proposed question. Why did your government refuse to separate the two, and deny Indigenous Australians recognition within the Constitution?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Nampijinpa Price for her question. I want to start by acknowledging, first, that for many Australians, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, the referendum result is disappointing and many feel a deep sense of loss.

I want to make the point, in response to Senator Nampijinpa Price's question, that this was a request from Indigenous people. I appreciate you have a different view to those that were consulted—those who came together at Uluru in 2017 and issued the Uluru statement after a process that involved hundreds of meetings and thousands of people. This government promised that we would seek to implement that statement and we kept that promise.

We respect and accept the decision of the Australian people and we all know how hard referenda are. Only eight out of 44 have succeeded, and all of those had bipartisan support. Regrettably, there was no bipartisan support in relation to this referendum. But this isn't the end of our efforts to bring people together. I think it's important to remember that, whilst Australians did vote against this constitutional change, Australians did not vote against closing the gap or reconciliation. I noticed that Senator Liddle made similar comments today or yesterday.

The point of the referendum, as Senator Nampijinpa Price knows too well, is that was the request that came from Indigenous leaders and representatives from the Referendum Working Group and from the Uluru Statement from the Heart and what lay beneath it, which was a grassroots process. I accept that some have a different view, but I think it is very clear that this was a request to us. It was a request that the Prime Minister made a commitment to honour and he did.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Nampijinpa Price, your first supplementary?

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (NT, Country Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Voice, treaty, truth. The Prime Minister has proudly said he will deliver the Uluru statement in full, despite not having read it. Can you confirm reports in the Australian today that state that Mr Albanese will still pursue treaty through the federally funded makarrata commission?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can confirm what the Prime Minister said on Saturday night. He said: 'We will take the time to listen to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Our guiding principle will be what we can do together to get better results for Indigenous Australians.' I think, as I said, that is something that Australians do agree on. People had a different view about constitutional change, but I think there is overwhelming support for ending disadvantage and improving outcomes for our First Peoples.

We will continue to listen to Indigenous Australians about what works and what can make a practical difference in communities. Obviously, the priorities that the government has are the priorities Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have themselves spoken about—health, education, jobs and housing. We previously outlined our strategic priorities for closing the gap and committing additional investments, some $424 million.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Nampijinpa Price, your second supplementary?

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (NT, Country Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I refer to the following explanation of treaty and truth by Pat Anderson to an MUA forum in November 2020: 'Treaty and truth go together because we have to have the bloodletting, if you like, before we can talk about any kind of settlement. Those two things go together. It's a little bit more than reconciliation. It's part of what I suspect will be a very painful exercise.'

In light of Saturday's rejection of the Voice, will the government listen to the Australian people, who voted for unity and rejected bloodletting? Will you abandon Mr Albanese's plans for yet more division? (Time expired)

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What this government seeks to do is to bring people together and to try and work together to address the gaps facing Indigenous Australians. That was the motivation behind the referendum—as I said, the ask of Indigenous leaders after a long and grassroots process. People are entitled to different views, and there are different views in this chamber. But I think people should also respect the views of the many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were part of that consultation process which led to the Statement from the Heart. And, really, I think that is borne out by the results in the referendum in many areas, including remote communities with high Indigenous populations. Those tell us a lot about what Indigenous Australians want: Wadeye, 92 per cent support; Tiwi Islands, 84 per cent support; and Yuendumu and similar polling places, 75 per cent support— (Time expired)