“There were around 500 different groups of Australia’s First Peoples before European settlement, spread across a continent similar in size to Europe. It ought not be surprising to find differences of opinion,” writes MICHAEL MOORE. 

THE most cynical would well argue that the drive for a First Nations’ “Voice to Parliament” helps to cloud the other issues that are likely to cause political consternation. 

The cost of living, relationship with China, the slow demise of Medicare and climate change are all issues that provide significant challenges for the federal Labor government.

The attempt by Chief Minister Andrew Barr to get broad Assembly support for the Voice has now failed. This is an issue that ought to be seeking unity through bi-partisanship. 

An astute effort that was really designed to support the Voice would have gathered the numbers and ensured across-Assembly agreement before the motion was tabled for debate.

The fact that the motion was voted on party lines, means it really is a government position rather than a broad Assembly position. The message is clear. As I pointed out in August in this column, the referendum is a long way from a lay-down misère.

Divisions within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community make the challenge even greater. The “Uluru Statement from the Heart” ought to have been a unifying call to action. People such as Prof Tom Calma, the Senior Australian of the Year, and Mick Gooda, the former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander commissioner, are great supporters for the Uluru statement and its implementation through a Voice.

For non-indigenous people, it might seem hard to understand why people such as senators Lydia Thorpe and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price are not prepared to be part of this unifying force. However, differences of opinion within groups of people is nothing new. Look at factions within political parties as just one example. It should not be a surprise to find a divergence of view from such a wide group of people.

There were around 500 different groups of Australia’s First Peoples before European settlement, and they were spread across a continent similar in size to Europe. It ought not be surprising, therefore, to find differences of opinion. Imagine seeking a single view from across the breadth and depth of Europe on almost any issue!

Former Greens Senator Thorpe is largely opposing the Voice as it does not go far enough in providing indigenous sovereignty. She made clear in her First Speech as a senator that she believes the solution to the injustices of the past lies in a treaty. 

“A treaty is a written agreement between sovereign nations, and Australia is the only Commonwealth country without one with its First People”. And later, “that’s why a treaty must come before other debates, such as constitutional recognition, changing the date of Australia Day, or a voice to parliament”.

At the opposite end of the political spectrum, Senator Price believes in personal responsibility and argues: “I personally have had more than my fill of being symbolically recognised”. 

She went on to argue “platitudes of motherhood statements from our now prime minister, who suggests, without any evidence whatsoever, that a voice to parliament bestowed upon us through the virtuous act of symbolic gesture by this government is what is going to empower us”.

Where the two senators do align is that they are seeking to ensure our First Peoples are empowered. The difference of opinion that they have with other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders, is that they do not accept the Voice as a first step.

As Calma pointed out in an interview with Michelle Grattan, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders “don’t always speak with the same voice and we have different experiences, we represent different demographics and so forth”.

The nature of political debate is that the differences of opinion allow the strong view of the vast majority of indigenous supporters of the “Uluru Statement of the Heart” and the Voice to be sidelined.

The other lesson from “real” politics is understanding what is attainable as a first step – or “the art of the possible”. Perhaps this is where the Greens party room really differed from now independent Lydia Thorpe. Reflect on the disastrous vote by the Greens in failing to support Labor’s 2009 Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, which set the climate action of this country back a decade.

A treaty may well be the long-term goal. The Voice is an important step forward and ought not be used as a diversion from other political issues.

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health. He has been a political columnist with “CityNews” since 2006.

All voices welcome

“CityNews” welcomes all opinions on the Voice. Respectful submissions of up to 750 words to editor@citynews.com.au, please.