Australia’s global reputation could be damaged “terribly” if an upcoming national vote on including First Nations people in the constitution fails, warned the minister for Indigenous affairs.
(Bloomberg) — Australia’s global reputation could be damaged “terribly” if an upcoming national vote on including First Nations people in the constitution fails, warned the minister for Indigenous affairs.
The country’s main opposition party said on Wednesday it would campaign for the “no” side in a historical vote on Indigenous representation to be held by December, ending hopes of a bipartisan push. Peter Dutton, leader of the center-right Liberal Party, said the Voice referendum wouldn’t provide practical outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney said she was determined to make the referendum “one of the most unifying moments in the Australian story” despite Dutton’s opposition, in an interview shortly after his announcement.
“If Australia votes no to recognition of First Nations people in the constitution, I think it will reflect terribly on Australia, not just in the broader international community, but most definitely in our Pacific area,” said Burney. “I can’t imagine how dreadful we would look as a nation.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Labor government won last year’s election with a promise to hold the referendum on forming a Voice to Parliament to advise lawmakers on issues affecting Indigenous Australians. It will also see the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population recognized in the constitution for the first time.
In recent months, Albanese has been holding talks with the Liberal Party in the hopes of getting bipartisan support for the proposal. The opposition was still in support of constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians, Dutton said, but called on Albanese to delay the 2023 vote to form a greater consensus.
“We want to make sure that we can get practical outcomes for Indigenous people on the ground,” Dutton told reporters in Canberra.
Burney said the best way to accomplish that was through embedding the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice in the constitution, describing the current living standard of Indigenous Australians as “completely unacceptable in today’s world.”
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