Tuesday, 3 October 2023

Voice to Parliament

Renee HEATH (Eastern Victoria) (13:41): I used my very first speech in this house to talk about reconciliation. I believe that we are strong when we honour and see the uniqueness in every single person. I believe this nation does need healing, trust does need to be built between different groups, and I do not believe that the Voice is the answer. The Voice is divisive, it is legally risky, it lacks detail and it is permanent. While I wholeheartedly support Indigenous reconciliation in the constitution, I do not believe that the Voice will provide better outcomes for Indigenous Australians.

Treating any ethnic group as a collective beholden to one opinion degrades and diminishes them. Aboriginal people are individuals with a diverse range of world views, opinions, thoughts and philosophies. We do people a great disservice when we allow their individualism to be swallowed up by a multibillion-dollar unelected bureaucracy that speaks on their behalf. We need to stop looking at people like racial entities, because we are better than that. Australians should not be divided along the lines of race. We need the spirit of unity and not the politics of division. Vote no to the Voice.