Views expressed by Federal Member for Farrer Sussan Ley on the indigenous Voice to Parliament have been labelled as “divisive” and “scaremongering” by a prominent local Aboriginal elder.
Yarkuwa Indigenous Knowledge Centre chair Jeanette Crew OAM went as far to say it may even encourage Australians to vote ‘no’ at the upcoming referendum.
Ms Ley - who is also deputy leader of the Federal Opposition - delivered a speech in Parliament late last month on The Constitutional Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023 Bill.
In it, she indicated she would be voting ‘yes’ to the Bill, “but ‘no’ to the Prime Minister’s question”.
The question posed will read: “A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?”.
“The Prime Minister’s proposed reform of the Constitution is unsound and it is my strong view that a ‘yes’ vote will not result in better outcomes for Indigenous Australians, but it could result in worse outcomes for all Australians,” Ms Ley said.
Mrs Crew is among the Aboriginal leaders who have extended an invitation to Ms Ley to talk about the Voice.
“It (what Ms Ley said) is just scaremongering, and the thing is the outcome isn't going to affect anybody but us black fellas,” the Wamba Wamba elder said.
“I'd be interested in who Sussan Ley has been talking to because no matter how many times we've sent her invitations, she doesn't accept. She doesn't come and talk to us, so she's not talking to people in Deni.”
Yarkuwa general manager David Crew said their doors are always open and welcomed all members of the community to visit them and have those conversations.
“Whether you're going to vote ‘yes’, you're not sure or you're going to vote ‘no’, come and have a chat,” he said.
Ms Ley did not respond specifically to questions put to her by the Pastoral Times, but said in the lead up to the referendum she expects to receive numerous meeting requests to discuss the Voice and will “accept as many as I can”.
“But it’s worth remembering, this vote is not really about what your local MP thinks,” she said.
“I voted yes to staging the referendum because everyone deserves to have a say on altering Australia’s precious Constitution. Within my speech to Parliament, I also stated ‘it’s okay to vote no, and it’s okay to vote yes, too’.
“As I said on the day the Opposition Leader and I announced our Party’s position on the Voice: it was not a ‘no’ from the Liberal Party. It was a day of many yeses.
“Yes, to constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians. Yes, to local and regional voices. Yes, to better outcomes for Indigenous Australians. But a no to dividing Australians.”
Mrs Crew said she personally does not have any issues with the wording of the referendum question, and felt that Ms Ley’s speech was “divisive” and “contradictory”.
“If you're saying yes to all of that, then you've got to be saying ‘yes’ to the Voice,” she said.
“If that's not divisive I don't know what it is.”
Mrs Crew was also concerned about the misinformation being spread by politicians about the Voice, which she said was dividing Australians and causing “a lot of stress and distress” for First Nations people.
She said the Voice is about equity, not “black fellas getting something that white fellas don't get”.
“I think equity is probably the most important thing, when you look at what equity really means,” Mrs Crew said.
If the outcome is a ‘no’ vote, Mrs Crew believes it will only further divide Australians more and have a devastating impact on First Nations people.
“A 'no' vote would actually divide us even more, and I personally would feel unwelcome in my own country.
“If there's a 'no' vote, things are only going to get worse.
“It's just another thing that will become part of the unresolved generational grief. I really dread a 'no' vote.”