MEMBER for Farrer Sussan Ley says Australians who care about Indigenous disadvantage can vote against the Voice to parliament, claiming Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is using and name-calling and “moral blackmail” to demean opponents of the referendum.
During debate on the constitutional amendment legislation, Ms Ley said she would vote ‘no’ with a heavy heart, urging the prime minister not to rush to failure on the question of Indigenous recognition.
“It’s OK to vote ‘no’ and still remain part of the national effort to help your Indigenous brothers and sisters, as you look on with anguish at what is happening in their communities,” Ms Ley told the Lower House on Tuesday night.
“It’s OK to vote ‘no’, full stop. And it’s OK to vote ‘yes’, too.
“What is not OK is to feel a moral compulsion, a coercive guilt to vote a certain way because of the tenor of this debate. It’s not OK for the prime minister to bully you into a decision.”
Ms Ley said the “overwhelming majority” of Australians wanted to see the gap closed.
“They want to see these better outcomes realised and they want the reconciliation journey to continue apace,” she said.
“And you can want all of that, but still vote ‘no’, because you do not believe this referendum question is the right one.
The Deputy Liberal Leader said “people of goodwill can disagree and in this referendum, people of goodwill will disagree”.
“But increasingly, this prime minister acts as the self-proclaimed ‘moral arbiter’ of Australia’s national conscience, not as a leader seeking consensus,” she said.
“Again and again when given the opportunity to provide the detail, the prime minister takes the low road and hurls insults instead.
“Regardless of whether ‘yes’ narrowly wins, or narrowly loses, millions of Australians will vote ‘no’.
“And they deserve better than their prime minister referring to them as ‘undertakers preparing the grave to bury Uluru’, ‘Chicken Littles’, or anything else with such deplorable connotations.
“And so we cannot be in a situation either, where those on the edges of radical politics belittle and demean Indigenous Australians, blaming them for their suffering and ignoring the realities of what has caused their pain.”
Ms Ley said the “path forward” was through a group of appointed national leaders, “residing at the top of our system of government, with an unlimited, untested ability to interact not just with elected representatives but across the full spectrum of executive government, an ability with supreme authority”.
“How can this group of just 20 have the detailed understanding, networks or even decision making capability to reach across – and provide advice on – the myriad of bespoke challenges in each and every local community? And how can a top down bureaucracy be better than a bottom up, community led, locally empowered Voice?” she asked.
“I appeal to the prime minister: if you look into your heart and the heart of the nation you lead, and you see division, misunderstanding and yes, even fear, do not rush to failure.
“Instead of insulting and demeaning the millions of Australians who are going to vote ‘no’, I urge the prime minister to work constructively with the Opposition to legislate what we can agree on – and then go to the Australian people with a referendum question that enjoys bipartisan support.”
Ms Ley said it was time to “stop the insults … name-calling and moral blackmail”.
“That’s what will divide our country, that’s what will tear at the fabric of our beautiful nation,” she said.
“Irrespective of the final result, I will continue to pray that we stay together as a country, true to the spirit that has made us who we are – and what we are – the most successful national enterprise in human history.
“Ours is a story that enmeshes an ancient Indigenous history, a British liberal democratic inheritance and the most incredible mosaic of multiculturalism anywhere on Earth.”
