Voice to Parliament
David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (13:42): I want to make a statement about the Voice to Parliament at a national level. Last night in my electorate I hosted a large forum, almost 200 people, with Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price as the guest speaker and a panel consisting of John Roskam from the Institute of Public Affairs and Louise Clegg, a barrister. There were questions, there was long discussion, there was enthusiasm. The community, in my view, do not want this Voice to Parliament. I will certainly be voting no. I should say, Senator Price was treated as a rock star. She is a person of huge integrity, huge understanding, and she has a preparedness to engage with honesty and transparency on any question that is put to her. I was proud to host the forum and proud to make the point very clearly that Victoria will be the poorer if the Voice is passed. It will tamper with our constitution, introducing a whole new chapter, a powerful new institution, that will have a tremendously negative effect on federal–state relations. As a state MP I am worried about what will happen with intergovernmental agreements on health, education and transport and what will happen with the GST, with the activities of the grants commission. Senator Price, thank you for addressing people in Southern Metro last night, and I certainly will vote no.