Anthony Albanese wants an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. The prime minister used the opening of the 47th Parliament to reiterate his government’s commitment to implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart: “We trust this Parliament will act responsibly.”
So far, this week shows how those apposed to a Voice to Parliament will try to foil those plans. During the pomp and ceremony of the first few days of Parliament, Pauline Hanson and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price have signposted their opposition to one of the government’s most high-profile commitments, a case that the Australian media are all too willing to give an inordinate amount of oxygen to.
Yesterday Hanson walked out during the Senate’s acknowledgment of country for her latest stunt. Despite having sat through a similar ceremony dozens of times, the career politician loudly objected. She posted a video on her social media channels immediately afterwards arguing that the acknowledgment alongside a plan to raise the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island flags in the chamber were stoking racial division in the country.
Australia isn’t racist, says the woman whose long political career started with the Liberal Party disendorsing her for making unsavoury comments about Indigenous welfare, but acknowledging the country’s original custodians apparently is.
The media made this the story of the day. Coverage moved to the reaction of other politicians, before finally circling back to the One Nation leader’s defence of her stunt. Dr Kurt Sengul is a far right politics and populism researcher who’s written about Hanson. He tweeted: “The media failed this test …”
Later, Warlpiri-Celtic woman and new Country Liberal NT Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price gave her maiden speech, during which she laid out how that opposing “pointless virtue signalling” instead of addressing “true causes of why Indigenous Australians are marginalised” is her political raison d’etre.
Price directly took aim at the Voice to Parliament and the prime minister, claiming that Albanese had said “that our Voice to Parliament bestowed upon us through the virtuous act of symbolic gesture by this government is what is going to empower us”.
She was one of three indigenous MPs who delivered their maiden speeches on Wednesday. Hers was by far the most covered; the other two, Marion Scrymgour and Jana Stewart, and their support for a Voice didn’t get the same exposure.
In just a single day of Parliament, Price and Hanson have neatly demonstrated the foundations of the case against an Indigenous Voice to Parliament and how the media is ready to be hijacked to promote that view.
Polling suggests that creating such a body is fairly popular (although not as popular as some of the Albanese government’s other major policies). Giving a disproportionate amount of air time to arguments like Hanson’s case that Indigenous recognition is itself promoting division and Price’s belief that a focus on symbolic gestures obstructs real work improving Indigenous welfare will only undermine that.
Price and Hanson are from different political parties. One’s been in federal politics for decades, the other is just getting started. But what they have in common is how they’ve used racial politics to make a name for themselves.
The fight over the Indigenous Voice to Parliament will draw national attention, stoked by a media built around amplifying conflict and controversy. The first week of Parliament shows Price and Hanson are all too ready to seize this opportunity.
Pauline Hanson’s confected outrage is just that. She has sat in the Senate since 2016 and not once did she storm out when there was an acknowledgment to country taking place.
This is about trying to stay relevant and in the news now that she has no sway in influencing legislation.
Exactly, and our best response is to ignore her. The new Parliament has the potential to see a lot of people ignored if they aren’t willing to take part in genuine discussion. These people will resort to stunts. Best that we devote our attention to those making a meaningful contribution (whether we agree with them or not).
Staying relevant will be an increasing challenge for the person who scraped back to hold the sixth Queensland Senate position. She beat out Amanda Stoker.
Indeed she did. So Hanson’s at least done one good thing in her political career.
“The media failed this test …”
So true. Outrage journalism and commentary has completely derailed an important and positive proposal and given some fringe players exactly what they wanted. disappointing, and so tedious. Just get it done.
It is hard to keep Price on task for any length of time judging from her previous career on the Alice Springs town council where she barely ever turned up. So Hanson and the press will have to work hard to keep her on the job. She has a very short attention span but on the plus side she loves attention so expect the occassional moments of sensation.
Canoeing.. its the indigenous equivalent of Showboating
Jacinta Price’s argument is nonsense. Is it her position that a Voice is bad for indigenous rights and equity? It seems her grandstanding is simply directed at doing other stuff first; ie all the other stuff that has not worked since 1967.
As for Pants Down, pure dumb evil made relevant only by a dumb corrupt media.
Personally, BA I think that Jacinta Price’s argument has some considerable merit. I will continue to hold that view until I am presented with evidence to the effect that it is unworthy.
They will only hijack the debate if the Media enables them.
What a pair of soul mates.