Voice debate "divisive" says Nampijinpa Price | ABC News Breakfast

well I think from the outset um this has is is now been one of the most divisive referendums that I think this country has seen I think some of the language that's been used in terms of um you know the arguments for uh certainly the yes side and the no side the notion that if one doesn't support this proposal that you know that there are those that consider them to be racist which is not the appropriate sort of discourse that we need in Australia right now and it has been a divisive process and I believe will continue to be and is concerning either way whether the result is a yes or a no there's going to have to be some work that needs to be done from the whole Community to to bring people back together I believe I mean um I know that you know half my family is Waterbury and the other half is white Australian and I certainly don't want for there to be a division between my my family so you're hearing that you're saying that the language around the campaigns is dividing Australia but the voice itself is not a divider or it is dividing us when ether does get successful it will divide Australia is that what you're saying oh look absolutely when um when you're providing the opportunity for one group of Australians based on our heritage only to have more of a say over policy that affects all Australians that to me is absolutely divisive and you know the whole premise of the voice is based on this idea that as a race of Australians where somehow inherently disadvantaged which is not true at all so it doesn't begin to look at where the problems actually exist where the Gap exists it doesn't exist between indigenous Australia and non-indigenous Australia it exists between those of us who are doing quite well quite privileged and those who are um pretty much marginalized and the most marginalized are those whose first language isn't English who live in remote communities and I think if we focused our efforts on in improving their lives that's where we'd see results but I don't see that this voice offers that opportunity but how does giving indigenous Australians a a platform that they can Elevate their opinions to to the National discourse and to National conversations how does that harm well we've already got the opportunity to do that that's that's the thing indigenous Australians have already got the opportunity to do that I know my you know certainly people like myself Senator Karen little we have been bringing to the parliament the issues the concerns of those living in remote Regional communities and a lot of the time not being heard so I believe it's about those of us who are paid by the taxpayer to represent all Australians doing our job better to ensure that those people in those communities are listened to and look there's a lot of people in those communities who don't necessarily feel as though they will get an opportunity at the table because it has been that opportunity has been held by those uh who who who are quite privileged in their own right as people of indigenous Heritage in this country and there are those that are concerned that this is much more about a transfer of power to those individuals than it is to providing an opportunity for our most marginalized to actually have a voice it feels a little bit like some of what you're saying is the parliamentary system is a way of representation and the system itself isn't broken but Senator pocock himself in Senate said um well the system is broken and this is one way to fix it if not this how do we fix the situation that a lot of indigenous Australians find themselves in well well I think Senator pocock has to actually provide the evidence as to where he thinks that it's broken uh you know it's one thing to use throw away lines such as that and he's completely and utterly removed from the circumstances of certainly their most marginalized and I have brought marginalized indigenous Australians to his office to voice their concerns and he's largely ignored those concerns so uh you know does he think he's part of that system that is broken and and look democracy our democratic system is is we we are part of the I think the greatest nation on the face of the Earth and while uh you know we do have our flaws generally we're actually I think it's a great system and until people can demonstrate that it it is in fact broken I mean we have a situation where we have 11 individuals who identify as indigenous the first time in our Parliament and over-representation in comparison to our population of indigenous Australians uh and I think that's that's a wonderful opportunity to be able to address the issues of of great concern but as I said I think the focus should be on those very marginalized individuals in remote communities and bringing them up to the same standards um you know the same opportunities as people like myself are Senator pocock and as the other 10 indigenous representatives in Parliament so Senator how do we do that if not a voice department for indigenous Australians to allow that uh issue to be elevated how do we how would you fix the situation for those who are disadvantaged in Australia sure well I would I would take a fine tooth home and and and conduct a forensic audit of the 33 billion dollars that is spent year in year out to determine where it's actually effectively being spent where it's being wasted and ensure that certainly those organizations that are funded uh to alleviate disadvantage are actually doing what they're supposed to be doing and if they're not there needs to be some level of accountability and again I would focus efforts as to where those most disadvantaged people exist in improving their lives as opposed to treating all indigenous Australians as as if we are all disadvantaged because of our heritage and not our circumstances Senator Jacinto price thank you so much thank you

Channel: ABC News (Australia)

Views: 12,560

Keywords: Australia, abc, abc news, news, voice to parliament

Id: LHgQ3X5LeJI

Length: 6min 37sec (397 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 20 2023