Noel Pearson lashes ‘kindergarten kid’ Nats leader over Indigenous Voice
Indigenous leader Noel Pearson is alarmed at what polls say is growing opposition to changing the Constitution. Photo: AAP
Indigenous leader Noel Pearson has unleashed on Nationals leader David Littleproud after the party announced on Monday it would oppose the Indigenous Voice to parliament.
Mr Pearson said he was surprised the Nationals would stand against the voice.
“I’ve spoken to almost every Nationals senators and MPs over recent yeas, and of all the political parties, the Nationals were the most supportive of the idea of the voice,” he told ABC Radio on Tuesday.
“This leader, supposed leader Littleproud… he’s like a kindergarten kid, not a leader. The Nationals have hoisted the mantle of leadership on a boy who’s incapable of leadership that’s necessary for the country.”
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus believes next year’s referendum to enshrine an Indigenous voice to parliament will still be successful, despite the Nationals opposing the plan.
Mr Littleproud said on Monday the Nationals would oppose the voice plans, arguing it would not improve outcomes for Indigenous people.
“We’ve been down this road before,” he told Nine’s Today program on Tuesday.
“What we fear is this will be a voice for Redfern but not for Wilcannia, not for Alice Springs and not for Carnarvon.”
While Mr Dreyfus said the opposition from the Nationals was disappointing, he still thought the referendum would succeed.
“Just because they’ve now made this announcement does not deal anything like a deathblow to this referendum,” he told ABC Radio on Tuesday.
“It’s very disappointing to hear one of the major parties in Australia deciding before the campaign has even started that they’re going to oppose this really important measure.”
The referendum is due to be held in the 2023/24 financial year, although a date has not been set.
Indigenous Coalition senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price said deciding on a “no” position on the voice wasn’t decision for the Nationals.
“Basically taking an idea to a referendum with no detail and then allowing for the parliamentary process to fill in the detail, I don’t think is a safe enough option,” she told 2GB.
Senator Price doubled down on her comments about Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney being out of touch with remote and disadvantaged First Nations communities, saying she didn’t have that understanding, having lived in NSW.
While the Liberal Party has yet to indicate its formal position on the issue, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has indicated his stance would be driven by the partyroom’s view.
But Mr Pearson said it would be madness for the Liberals not to support the voice, taking aim at criticism that it would only affect Indigenous people in inner-city areas and not remote communities.
“We’ve gone through a long history of this over a dozen years, and we’ve landed with the simple idea of a voice, the simple proposition that Aboriginal people should be able to tell the parliament their views on any laws that affect them,” he said.
Mr Dreyfus said an education campaign will start next year on what will be needed to change the constitution, with Australia’s last referendum being held more than 20 years ago.
“If you’re under 40, you’ve never voted in a referendum. We’ve got a lot of educating to do about what we need to change our constitution and how we change our constitution,” he said.
“This is a step that takes Australia forward for everyone. And sadly, there are some in our country who oppose the voice, it seems, and they’re holding this country back.”
The government has been calling for a referendum during this term of parliament to set up an Indigenous voice – one of the recommendations from the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
-with AAP