It’s a long way from Mabo to Gucci. But the personalities of our Indigenous MPs and senators will weigh heavily in the fight for constitutional change | LisaVisentin
Northern Territory Country Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price cemented her status this week as the leading flamethrower for the campaign against an Indigenous Voice to parliament.
Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price speaks at the announcement of the National Party’s opposition to the proposed Voice.Framing the debate in zero-sum terms, Price said the Voice would empower “the elites” at the expense of marginalised Indigenous Australians in remote communities, particularly those in the NT on whose behalf she claimed to speak, insisting they were more concerned about challenges such as alcohol-fuelled violence in their communities.
A remarkable feature of the Voice referendum is that it will be authorised by a parliament that includes a record 11 Indigenous MPs and senators from across the political spectrum. Never have Indigenous politicians had such a platform from which to prosecute the fight for constitutional recognition – a principle that has been agreed to in one form or another by every government since the Howard era.
Handpicked by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to make the case for constitutional change to the Australian people, Burney eschews culture wars and is widely respected across parliament as a consensus-seeker.Her attempt this week to lift the debate out of the political weeds, while subtly repudiating the elitist label – a spokesman said she doesn’t own any Gucci – is indicative of her non-confrontational style.
“A better future that will improve the lives of Indigenous Australians on the ground in practical ways like health, education, and housing. This isn’t about more bureaucracy. This is about making sure voices in remote and regional communities are heard,” she said.The Voice to parliament was the first of three sequential elements agreed upon by 250 Indigenous leaders in the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart, along with treaty-making and truth-telling.
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