Pat Anderson: Dutton rewriting history insults all Australians
THE FOLLOWING is a statement from Aunty Pat Anderson AO, “Yes” campaign leader and co-chair of the Uluru Dialogue:
“Opposition leader Peter Dutton is insulting Australians when he says he supports a Voice but only in legislation, with symbolism in the Constitution.
“In 2015 we were asked to go out to communities and ask them how they wanted to be recognised in the Constitution. I was the Co-Chair of that historic process. First Nations called for a Voice enshrined in the Constitution. The Voice comes from a historic consensus and is both symbolic and substantive recognition based on our experience with successive governments.
“Dutton has not listened. He says he supports a Voice but only on his terms. He has made up his own model.
“The rejection of symbolic recognition on its own was made clear in 2015 when the Kirribilli Statement was released to Tony Abbott and Bill Shorten stating that symbolic recognition would not be acceptable. This was eight years ago.
“In 2015 the Referendum Council was set up because of the rejection of symbolism as a form of recognition.
“The LNP cannot now rewrite history because it's convenient for their re-election plans as reported widely on the weekend.
“Aboriginal people deserve better than to be an ideological football.
“A Voice that is legislated only, outside the Constitution, does not work for us. It makes us subject to the whims and fancy of the politics of the day.
“Under a legislated Voice, we cannot plan for the future because there is no stability. It is a no-man's zone. Our organisations do not know whether they are funded from one government to the next and when there is a change of government, we are back to ground zero.
“A legislated Voice is more of the same. It's no change for us.”
