Surely there can be nothing that screams “right side of history on Indigenous issues” better than the fulsome endorsement of Pauline Hanson. Shortly before the Liberal Party came to its (sort of) consensus on opposing the government’s model for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, the One Nation leader — who has been using the Voice debate to revive her moribund relevance — put out a statement, arguing among other things:
Peter Dutton is the leader of the Liberal Party; he needs to become the man he once was as minister of immigration and home affairs and act like the leader people are crying out for … On the principles of equality for all Australians, it must be a unanimous NO!
At the opposite end of the spectrum, longtime Indigenous advocate and one of the architects of the Uluru Statement from the Heart Noel Pearson responded to the Liberals’ stance in biblical terms:
I couldn’t sleep last night. I was haunted by dreams, and the spectre of the Peter Dutton Liberal Party’s Judas betrayal of our country. They’ve had 11 years to work on a proper proposal … I see Peter Dutton as an undertaker, preparing the grave to bury Uluru.
Let’s see how the decision landed elsewhere.
The commentariat…
Former Tony Abbott chief of staff Peta Credlin — still touring on the back of her one major success, like a political Lou Bega — criticised Dutton in The Australian for not going far enough: “It wasn’t quite the unambiguous No to giving some Australians extra rights based on their ancestry that many Liberal supporters expected.”
Also in the national broadsheet, Geoff Chambers looked at the politics of the matter, concluding that Dutton was staking his leadership on this call — a Yes vote would be the end of him. There was also a note on the concerns of unnamed Liberals MPs around the vagueness of the alternative Dutton put forward, itself an irony, given Dutton has spent six months searching in vain for the details of the Albanese government’s proposal.
Chambers’ take, predictably, is one of many that looks at the decision almost entirely through the lens of party politics — see also David Crowe and Phil Coorey in the Nine papers.
Meanwhile, Crikey’s Michael Bradley argues: “We must recognise its deeper significance beyond the petty politics: it doesn’t just reflect an ignoring of what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have asked for in open-handed sincerity, it spits it back in their faces.”
…and the politicians
Liberal state premiers are pretty much indistinguishable from the eastern barred bandicoot — extinct on the mainland and under threat in Tasmania — and the last remaining specimen in the wild, Jeremy Rockliff, was keen to distance himself from Dutton’s call. Rockliff has told The Australian he will campaign “vigorously” for the Yes side. In this he joins pretty much every other state Coalition leader.
To continue with the “nearly extinct” theme, at the federal level, Liberal moderates have, with their usual breathtaking mix of equivocation, inaction and clanging great lack of impact, have lightly weighed in.
Senator Simon Birmingham called on his party to reject its reputation as “intolerant, nasty and divisive”, joining a largely anonymous chorus of whispered dissent after the catastrophic result in Aston last weekend. Liberal backbencher Bridget Archer — a moderate who has actually done something to oppose her party’s more right-wing moves — told the ABC she’ll campaign for Yes. She cited the view of people like Rockliff as a reason not to quit the party altogether, and as a backbencher is free to freelance on these matters. Birmingham, and any other moderates in shadow cabinet bound by solidarity, at this point has no such option.
At the time of writing, we’ve not heard of anyone standing down over this or anything else Dutton has committed the party to.
At some recent point in time there were rumblings about Bridget Archer being dumped from the Liberal Party by which I think they meant disendorsed. Maybe she has stared them down. If they dump the only member who ever speaks up about what the Party ought to be doing instead of what they are actually doing they would only hasten their own demise.
So what about these other so called moderates. Are they only moderate when it is safe to be so? If they throw their lot in with the dreadful Dutton they are equally complicit in the Party’s downfall. Let’s hope they go down with it.
Bridgit Archer should go independent – her talent is a beacon in a wasteland
I do not agree. Whenever Bridget Archer disagrees with the Lib party on anything (and recently she has seemed to disagree quite frequently) the msm go to her for her opinion. And she is articulate.
I thought the interviews with her, following yesterday’s dreadful Dutton decision, allowed her to express her disagreement very clearly and thereby show up her fellow Libs for their mammoth failure. If she were an independent she would likely not have been approached and therefore we would not have known that she intends to campaign strongly for the YES vote.
she stands out for her brave stance x 2
she categorcally stated she would vote yes – and is an independant and has a semblance of empathy with 3 distinct issues ; which is why she ahould become an independant ; tge right wing in that mob with oust her otherwise id reckon – broad church really !?
sorry fumbling fingers;( sic) the; will;should- read independant thinker
Quite right MJM. There’s been far less media interest in what Lydia Thorpe has to say since she left the Greens.
No, certainly not, she is more effective where she is. She would be doing Dutton and all the Liberals like him a favour if she walked out voluntarily. For a start, it would immediately let them and their mates accuse her of winning her seat under false pretences, because that is standard retaliation when a sitting member abandons the party they were in when elected, and there would other crap she does not need. So long as she remains where she is, she has the party machine to support her during elections, which is a big deal. She should not go unless the party deselects or expels her. If that happens it will only enhance her standing in her electorate and put a very embarrassing spotlight on the worst aspects of the party as it tries to explain why she had to be forced out.
Ah, remember Petro Georgiou. Mouth off about “broad church” and how we are not like that horrid collectivist ALP Caucus. “Moderates” who do not know their place can cool it on the back bench. It is interesting that this is now a teal seat. After the decision on the Voice, I think the current member might feel that bit more confident of still being the member in 2026.
The Rodent as Mao after too many flowers bloomed and the schools had no chance to contend before being ‘dried’ out – desiccated & shredded.
If the Dutton Liberal Party dumps Bridget Archer, she will easily hold Bass as an independent
I have a vague recollection that she was the only Lib to extend her margin at the last election.
The Liberal party line is that the moderates were hammered at the last election because folks prefer conservatism.
A simplistic take on the state of play. Monique Ryan campaigned with the slogan, ‘A vote for Josh Friedenburg is a vote for a government with Barnaby Joice in it.’ Can we please stop suggesting exit ramps on the road to oblivion for the poor old Libs.
I would much prefer to sit back and watch them disintegrate. Far more entertaining.
That says it all really about our useless horserace media. One of the most profound issues for the Country, to make some small progress to account for our appalling history and these guys want to talk about how it affects the leadership of someone who is clearly doomed whatever happens. To say nothing about the complete moral corruption of the lnp…
Just as when Keating raises questions about AUKUS, the media responds with questions about Keating.
It’s one thing to reject the Voice, but suggesting recognition-only knowing full well that is not wanted nor asked for by First Nations people and is a suggestion by White Australia, is just deliberately rubbing salt into wounds.
And it is the perfect example of why The Voice is needed.
Yep! Just more of the “same as it ever was”. Non-Aborigines telling Aborigines what’s good for them. Actually code for “This is not good for the status quo, i.e., – us. So, that’s a big NO from us!” Can also be thought of as saying “Shit! the Voice could actually work. So, that’s a big NO from us!”
i do not believe the voice is anything more ; its sadly not the golden solution But at least its a step towards …vote Yes Aka Noel Pearson said so
i would like its to have open aboriginal representation to build its representaives make up and hope tgat mining and job and health reps dont get their fingers in the juicy Canberra lobby deals … But those barnacles lurk everywhere these days – General Politics are no purer
The Voice is more than recognition. That’s why the Coalition opposes.
Fascinating move by the Liberals. Until today voting yes only offered the prospect of the Voice being created. Now, like one of those supermarket buy-one-get-one-free offers, if the nation votes yes it gets the Voice and Dutton removed and humiliated as Liberal leader. What’s not to like?
Peter Dutton is preparing to bury the liberal party, not Uluru.
Here’s hoping.