At the Garma festival, Cape York leader Noel Pearson has pitched the Voice to parliament referendum as the “last best chance” to recognise Indigenous Australians
An obstacle has been cleared from the path of the Yes campaign after the Western Australian government decided to scrap controversial Aboriginal heritage laws that had become a flashpoint in the Voice referendum.
Published polls show WA is likely to vote No in the referendum, but the fierce backlash to the heritage laws had threatened to spill into the broader national campaign. The laws, which took effect in July, faced a fierce backlash from farmers, while the federal opposition pushed the federal government to rule out replicating the laws federally.Speaking at the Garma festival Rio Tinto Australia chief executive Kellie Parker said she would be seeking further details from the WA government about the move, as she rejected criticism from the opposition about corporates supporting the Yes campaign.
“We’ve always thought this is clearly two different issues that we’re dealing with. The act itself, the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act, is something else. But the Voice is the hope for the future for all of us.“
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