Federal Liberal ranks split on Voice to Parliament

Jarred Cross
Jarred Cross Published January 3, 2023 at 12.00pm (AWST)

Tasmania's federal Liberal representatives are divided on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

On Tuesday The Mercury reported that a number of the state's Liberal MPs have revealed their position, and it is not a united front.

Following Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's announcement the Voice referendum would take place within the year at Queensland's Woodford Folk Festival last week, Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney set her sights on a date in August.

The federal Nationals adopted a collective stance opposing the Voice in late November, and opposition leader Peter Dutton is yet to make the federal Liberal Party's position known.

Liberal MP for Bass Bridget Archer, co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends to the Uluru Statement from the Heart, told the Mercury she is supportive of the concept, open-minded toward the proposal model, and supportive of individual stances being expressed within the Liberal cohort.

Senator for Tasmania Wendy Askew said she has an "open mind" on the Voice while calling for more details on the proposal.

Member for Braddon Gavin Pearce said he couldn't support the constitutional change with the information he had been provided.

"I don't think that the detail has been articulated well enough," he told the Mercury.

"I don't want this to go the wrong way and the unintended consequences of a separate rule for some and not others, I think, could be devastating."

Tasmania Liberal MP Gavin Pearce. image: Gavin Pearce Facebook

The overall merits of the Voice to bring about positive change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was questioned by Liberal Senator for Tasmania Jonathon Duniam.

Mr Duniam told the Mercury he wants a change which will "genuinely help to improve the lives of Indigenous Australians" and required further details on the Labors proposal.

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