Regional Indigenous leaders say Dutton is spreading ‘misinformation and confusion’ on the voice
Lorena Allam
Politicians of the Australian parliament can have their opinions, but they will count for only 227 votes at the referendum. It is the opinions of the nearly 18 million other Australian voters that will really count in deciding “yes” or “no”, a coalition of 13 regional Indigenous leaders say.
Peter Dutton has chosen to spread misinformation, confusion and ignore the support of the vast majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
It is simply wrong to label the proposal the “Prime Minister’s Canberra Voice” and “divisive”.
We hoped for better from our politicians.
In saying “no” the Liberals and Nationals are seeking to take us backwards as a nation.
We called for bipartisan support for the referendum, but political games are being played with our lives and futures, and the future of the entire nation.
Mr Dutton and the Liberals have very little understanding of our lives and experience and present no solutions despite 21 of 26 years in government.
They continue to focus on attacking the government and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and wish to maintain the top-down system of ‘Canberra knows best’ that continues to fail.
Mr Dutton supports legislated local and regional voices as though that is some brilliant, original idea of the Liberal Party. But we have operated at the local and regional level for nearly 10 years now, mostly under a Coalition Government.
We have experienced firsthand that our current system is broken, because decisions are made by politicians without our on the ground input.
Mr Dutton knows as well as we do, local and regional voices must be linked to the national level to provide an effective and empowering approach to close the gap. This is exactly what will be provided though Voice.
Mr Dutton did not respond to our request to meet in Canberra, or to our invitation to visit our regions so we could show him why constitutional recognition through Voice is the change we need – linking from local and regional to national.
The 13 empowered communities leaders are from across Australia from Cape York, to Redfern, the Ngarrindjeri lands in SA, North East Arnhem Land, NT, East and West Kimberley, and the NPY (Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, NT).
Key events
Measles alert for western Sydney
Western Sydney residents need to be on alert for signs and symptoms of measles, health authorities are warning following an infant spending time at numerous locations while infectious.
The full list of locations where people may have been exposed to the case, as well as the symptoms to look out for, can be found here.
NSW Health says:
The infant is too young to be vaccinated against measles and had not been abroad. An investigation is under way to identify where the infant was exposed to measles.
At this early stage of the investigation, there are no known links to a recent measles case in western Sydney in an infant who acquired the infection while in India before returning to Sydney.
Queensland police appeal for safe return of platypus on Brisbane train
If you’ve been following the story of the little platypus seen boarding a Brisbane train, the appeal from police to return the animal has gone to the very top of the organisation.
The state’s top officer, police commissioner Katarina Carroll, has issued a personal appeal to the alleged assailants seen taking the monotreme aboard the train Tuesday:
We do have pretty good footage as to who we believe has taken the platypus, as you can appreciate for the health and wellbeing of the animal, he really needs to be back in his environment.
If you’re watching this and you know who you are, can you please come to us because we will be out there looking for you.
The police minister Mark Ryan, who has given “the little fella” the name Peter, said:
Peter the platypus needs to come home. The police see, every single day, a whole number of people do stupid things. Well, this is a whole other level of stupid.
To the people who have taken Peter the platypus, take it to the nearest police station, take it to the nearest vet. Peter needs to get home and you’ve done something very, very stupid. It is an offence.
My colleague Rafqa Touma wants to see your best, worst and weirdest Easter hats! You can get in touch with your pictures and stories by tweeting her @At_Raf_, or emailing australia@theguardian.com.
Rip Curl Pro gets underway at Winkipop
The opening round of the men’s Rip Curl Pro is underway in clean, two-to-three-foot waves at Winkipop, AAP reports.
World Surf League chief of sport Jessi Miley-Dyer said the decision was made to start the men’s and women’s competitions today, with conditions predicted to tail off from Friday.
The start comes after a two-day delay in the event waiting period and organisers have moved to Winkipop from the neighbouring Bells beach.
Miley-Dyer said:
We are going to call competition on at Winkipop today. There isn’t quite enough swell at the moment on the Bells side, but Winki is offering up some really fun waves.
We have called both the men’s and women’s opening rounds on and hope to complete both by day’s end.
This swell is a short one for just today and maybe tomorrow morning, so we want to make the most of the opportunity before we face some challenging conditions over the next couple of days.
The first heat of the event is Australian Ethan Ewing taking on American Nat Young and Costa Rican Carlos Munoz.
The last non-elimination heat of the day will be eight-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore up against veteran American Courtney Conlogue and Costa Rica’s Brisa Hennessy.
Australians Jack Robinson and Molly Picklum are the No 1 seeds after three rounds of the world tour, while compatriot Tyler Wright is the defending women’s Rip Curl Pro champion.
As more reactions come in to the news of the Inland Rail’s cost blowouts exceeding $30bn, independent MP Allegra Spender says she wants to push for amendments to improve Infrastructure Australia’s decision making process.
Today we’ve learned the cost Inland Rail has blown out from $8bn to $16bn and now to $31bn. Why does this keep happening? The problem starts with politicians making decisions without looking at the evidence. We must spend public money more effectively. 🧵 1/2 pic.twitter.com/OPyyMb9vnc
— Allegra Spender (@spenderallegra) April 6, 2023
Infrastructure Australia has huge potential to improve infra decisions – but it’s not delivering yet. I have amendments that would help IA reach its potential.
Will this govt back sensible changes to improve spending integrity?
Stay Tuned! 🧵 2/2https://t.co/xt9XSaHaWF— Allegra Spender (@spenderallegra) April 6, 2023
Elias Visontay
Australasian Railway Association urges swift action after damning Inland Rail review
The Australasian Railway Association has urged the government to swiftly implement the recommendations made following the damning review of the Inland Rail project, and has called for clarity on whether it will commit to delivering the full project all the way to Brisbane.
In the hours after the release of Dr Kerry Schott’s review which found the project’s price tag had ballooned from $16.4bn to $31.4bn in the space of two years, and is now four years behind schedule, the government announced it will accept all 19 of Schott’s recommendations “in full or in-principle” as it sought “to rescue Inland Rail from the shameful state it was left in by the Coalition”.
A key recommendation made by Schott is to prioritise the delivery of the Melbourne to Parkes stretch of the 1,700km project that aims to create an inland freight corridor between Melbourne and Brisbane capable of running double stacked trains between the two cities in 24 hours.
A key goal of the project is to shift the freight from hundreds of thousands of trucks off roads and onto rail as a way to reduce emissions, however the project has attracted controversy over potential flooding risk and environmental concerns.
The government has been less certain about plans to build from Parkes to Brisbane, and on Thursday, Australasian Railway Association CEO Caroline Wilkie called for certainty as to whether the full track would be built.
It is critical that there is certainty around the route beyond Parkes and we look forward to seeing approvals and more detailed costings being determined as soon as possible.
We must move more freight on rail to meet growing demand and respond to the climate crisis. It is absolutely critical that Inland Rail is delivered as quickly and efficiently as possible. Failure to do so would see more trucks on the road and undermine the rail industry’s efforts to support a more sustainable national freight network.
Other recommendations include the immediate appointment of a CEO of the project, other governance changes, and appointing independent cost estimators.
Read more:
Australia condemns Taliban’s ban on female Afghan UN workers
The foreign minister has taken to Twitter in condemnation of the Taliban’s plan to ban all female Afghan employees of the UN from working.
The UN said the ban would lead to even less humanitarian aid reaching Afghanistan.
Penny Wong says Australia “stands with the people of Afghanistan”.
Australia condemns the Taliban’s decision to ban women Afghan UN staff delivering life-saving humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan.
We support the @UN in its tireless advocacy for the rights of women and girls.
Australia stands with the people of Afghanistan.
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) April 6, 2023
Australian police join multinational raid on cybercrime marketplace
Australian police have participated in a multinational raid on an online cybercrime marketplace, arresting 10 suspects and seizing computers, drugs and cash, AAP reports.
A coalition of law enforcement agencies – including in the US, UK, the Netherlands and Australia – shut down the cybercrime website Genesis Market and executed over 100 arrests around the world on Tuesday.
The invite-only marketplace is used by criminals to buy and sell sensitive data such as login credentials, browsing history and autofill form data, for as little as one Australian dollar.
Australian Federal Police assistant commissioner Scott Lee said the investigation identified 36,000 Australian devices for sale on Genesis Market, which had the potential to cause $46m worth of financial harm to the community.
Cybercrime is increasing in scale and frequency. For a small cost, individuals with nefarious intentions could purchase a packaged dataset that would allow them to gain access to a victim’s government services and online banking.
Investigations are ongoing but police say they have already arrested their highest value targets, including a 31-year-old man at Box Hill in Victoria, who allegedly spent over $50,000 buying information from the marketplace.
Lee urged anyone who believes they may have been affected to take action to protect themselves, advising them to change their passwords and run antivirus software on their devices.
Caitlin Cassidy
The vice-chancellor at the Australian National University says he is “deeply saddened” by the Liberal party’s decision to campaign against the voice.
I am deeply saddened by the decision of the Liberal Party to actively campaign against the Voice referendum. I see the Voice as a chance for modern Australia to recognize it First Nations people and their 65000+ year past. want to know more? here is a FAQ https://t.co/X4S0J5Udxu
— Brian P Schmidt (@cosmicpinot) April 6, 2023
ANU is among a string of universities including UNSW, the University of Wollongong, the University of Swinburne and Curtin University that have pledged public support of the voice.
Regional Indigenous leaders say Dutton is spreading ‘misinformation and confusion’ on the voice
Lorena Allam
Politicians of the Australian parliament can have their opinions, but they will count for only 227 votes at the referendum. It is the opinions of the nearly 18 million other Australian voters that will really count in deciding “yes” or “no”, a coalition of 13 regional Indigenous leaders say.
Peter Dutton has chosen to spread misinformation, confusion and ignore the support of the vast majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
It is simply wrong to label the proposal the “Prime Minister’s Canberra Voice” and “divisive”.
We hoped for better from our politicians.
In saying “no” the Liberals and Nationals are seeking to take us backwards as a nation.
We called for bipartisan support for the referendum, but political games are being played with our lives and futures, and the future of the entire nation.
Mr Dutton and the Liberals have very little understanding of our lives and experience and present no solutions despite 21 of 26 years in government.
They continue to focus on attacking the government and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and wish to maintain the top-down system of ‘Canberra knows best’ that continues to fail.
Mr Dutton supports legislated local and regional voices as though that is some brilliant, original idea of the Liberal Party. But we have operated at the local and regional level for nearly 10 years now, mostly under a Coalition Government.
We have experienced firsthand that our current system is broken, because decisions are made by politicians without our on the ground input.
Mr Dutton knows as well as we do, local and regional voices must be linked to the national level to provide an effective and empowering approach to close the gap. This is exactly what will be provided though Voice.
Mr Dutton did not respond to our request to meet in Canberra, or to our invitation to visit our regions so we could show him why constitutional recognition through Voice is the change we need – linking from local and regional to national.
The 13 empowered communities leaders are from across Australia from Cape York, to Redfern, the Ngarrindjeri lands in SA, North East Arnhem Land, NT, East and West Kimberley, and the NPY (Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, NT).
Liberals ‘going low’ with dismissive language towards Indigenous academics, Noel Pearson says
Picking up on Dutton’s dismissive language towards “city-based academics” being the voice. In his powerful interview on ABC Radio this morning, Noel Pearson said Dutton’s comments taking aim at Indigenous academics is part of what he means about the Liberal’s campaign “going low”.
This rhetoric we’re going to see a lot of it over the next six months, when he talks about academics in that sneering way, as if Aboriginal people getting educated…
Well, that’s what I mean about going low.
His the voice of Canberra, seeking to tell the Australian people from Canberra what what should happen. Whereas we want to voice to Canberra. We want to voice from the grassroots speaking to Canberra, and that’s what the voice will be about.
It’ll be a very good thing for the future of our communities, that we have a say in what Canberra does, and that the bureaucrats and politicians at least are required to listen to those voices. It is exactly the opposite of the kind of voice that professional politicians like Dutton have.
Dutton and his colleagues think that telling the Australian people what should happen on an issue like this is the only way these things should happen. And unfortunately for him, the Australian constitution actually puts the power in the people to decide this question. And thank God, we have the Australian people deciding this question rather than the Liberal party.
Dutton reiterates opposition to Indigenous voice
The Coalition leader, Peter Dutton, was on the Today Show largely reiterating the same lines he came out with yesterday when he announced that the Liberals would be formally opposing the voice to parliament.
Asked about whether he is willing to negotiate still or whether it’s a fait accompli at this point, Dutton said:
Well, we’ve said yesterday we want to sit down with the government and the constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians is very important but the voice goes a step beyond what I think is realistic and what’s in our country’s best interests. So happy to sit down.
The report recommended a local and regional body before a national body and as people in Indigenous communities have said to us, they just don’t want city-based academics pretend to represent their views.
They want practical outcomes on the ground and we want money spent in a wise way to help with housing and maternal services and birthing units and rehabilitation units etc, jobs. All of that is important but I don’t think the prime minister’s Canberra-based voice is going to deliver that.
