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Independent Victorian Senator Lidia Thorpe has backtracked after declaring her support for a legislated Voice to parliament if the referendum to embed the body in the Constitution failed this weekend.
On ABC Radio National this morning, Thorpe called Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “weak” for not seeking to legislate the Voice if the referendum fails, adding she’d “absolutely” support a legislated Voice outside of the Constitution, even though she would celebrate the referendum defeat.
Lidia Thorpe at a press conference in Melbourne last week.Credit: Luis Ascui
Early this afternoon, her office released a statement to “clarify her remarks”.
In the statement, Thorpe said her comments “must be taken in the context of my consistent position that Truth and Treaty are the first steps that must be taken to bring peace to this land”.
“I want to make it clear that I do not support the Voice proposed by the government and no representative body should be established, in any form, unless it is the product of free, prior and informed consent of the First Peoples of this country,” Thorpe said.
Here’s the rest of the statement:
The Blak Sovereign Movement and grassroots mob have been consistent in their rejection of the current proposal for a powerless advisory body enshrined in the colonial constitution.
We need an end to the era of powerless advisory bodies, where the role of First Peoples has been to give advice to a colonial government that can and does ignore that advice. Our Sovereign status means that they need to come to our table and negotiate with us.
Recognising First Peoples Sovereignty requires recognition of the over 250 language groups in this country that speak for themselves and each have a right to self-determination as Sovereigns.
We have presented a clear way forward for this country to take after this referendum and we encourage everyone, regardless of how they vote, to join us on this journey. It is in everyone’s best interest to look beyond the distraction of the Voice and hold governments accountable for the continued injustices committed against our people and our Country.
Regardless of the outcome, the pathway forward begins with healing, Truth Telling, Treaty, implementing the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and Bringing Them Home report, and implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.