Treasurer, if the Voice is an investment give us the details?
In the Treasurer’s opinion piece yesterday he encouraged Western Australians to think of the Voice as an investment. I encourage Western Australians to do the same.
Consider this, would you invest in a project with practically no substantive detail? Would you personally invest in a project with unknown cost, unknown structure and unknown benefits? A project that is proposed to last forever.
Before signing on a reasonable investor would want these questions answered and would not be swayed by a salesman’s promises of feeling good afterwards and unexplained positive returns.
With the Prime Minister finally confirming the referendum date for October 14, I know Western Australians will begin to focus on this and understand the significance of their decision.
The fundamental problem with the Yes campaign is that they believe they are on the right side of history. In this belief they believe it is enough to just say that the Voice will lead to better outcomes for our first Australians and that any question as to how it will practically work are not important.
Of course it is not just the yes campaign who want to see better outcomes for our Indigenous brothers and sisters. All Australians want to see the unacceptable gaps in life expectancy, education and incarceration closed, but we also need to know how we get there.
The Voice is being sold as the tool to do just this, but no information has been provided to how it will practically work. We don’t know how many members it will have, how representatives will be chosen or how this structure will deliver better outcomes.
I am privileged to represent Australia’s second largest Indigenous population. The Indigenous communities in Durack are not some homogeneous mob. The only model so far referenced includes a national body of 24 members, three of which from WA. Are three people seriously going to provide expert advice on what policies need to be implemented across each unique WA community?
Even if they are to be chosen, how will they be chosen? What will be the process? Will this occur through direct election? In the Nordic Sami Parliaments only Sami people are entitled to enrol to vote for their representatives. You must prove the Sami language is spoken in your home or the home of your parents or grandparents in order to be eligible. Does Labor think that is workable in Australia?
Then we have the issue of delivering better outcomes. The Albanese Government cancelled the cashless debit card and allowed for alcohol bans in vulnerable NT communities to expire. Both actions were justified by Labor as listening to Indigenous people on the ground and both have resulted in chaos.
Despite so many uncertainties, we do know the Voice is just the beginning. As the Prime Minister has made clear, his Government supports the Uluru Statement in full. That means a Treaty is just around the corner. If you thought there was little information about the Voice, wait until we get to a Treaty.
Australians must decide on the biggest change to our Constitution in our history. It’s only fair that basic questions and concerns are answered. Yet, the Prime Minister is asking us to sign a binding contract without first seeing its terms.
In February I wrote in the West that we needed to forget the ‘vibe’ and it’s the details that matter. After six months of moral lecturing, we are no closer to learning anything of substance.
Australians deserve answers, and to echo another of the Prime Minister’s favourite lines, if not now, when?
As an investor if you’re unsure, you generally play it safe. As a voter I would encourage the same. If you don’t know, vote no.
*Published in the West Australian, 1 September 2023
The Hon Melissa Price MP
Federal Member for Durack
Opposition Whip