One of Anthony Albanese’s top lieutenants has declared that an Indigenous Voice to Parliament is an inevitability in Australia.
The Voice referendum in October 2023 was resoundingly defeated by a national margin of 60 per cent.
But Foreign Minister Penny Wong has now claimed that there will one day be a Voice – and Australians will wonder why there was ever an argument about it.
‘I think we’ll look back on it in 10 years’ time and it’ll be a bit like marriage equality,’ Senator Wong told the Betoota Talks podcast.
‘I always used to say, marriage equality, which took us such a bloody fight to get that done, and I thought, all this fuss.
‘It’ll become something, it’ll be like, people go “did we even have an argument about that?”.’
‘Like, kids today, or even adults today, barely kind of clock that it used to be an issue. Remember how big an issue that was in the culture wars?
‘Blimey, just endless.’
Foreign Minister Penny Wong (pictured) has now claimed that there will one day be a Voice – and Australians will wonder why there was ever an argument about it
The campaign was a major blow for the Labor government and Anthony Albanese, who hinged his legacy on the Voice
Senator Wong told the podcast that the Prime Minister thought the Voice was the best thing for the country.
‘He’s not a pull the pin kind of guy,’ she said. Senator Wong said.
‘Yeah, (the Prime Minister) thought it was the right thing to do and, you know, a lot of First Nations leaders wanted the opportunity.’
Mr Albanese has repeatedly said there will be not be another referendum.
Asked by Channel Seven’s Political Editor Mark Riley during SUnday night’s leaders’ debate whether he still believed in the Voice, Mr Albanese responded: ‘It’s gone’.
‘I respect the outcome (of the referendum), we live in a democracy,’ he said.
But Senator Wong’s comments threaten to undermine the official Labor position, which has sought to distance the administration as much as possible from the disastrous result.
Her comments come despite more than 60 per cent of Australians voting ‘No’ in the referendum on October 14, 2023, with every state and territory – aside from the ACT.
Four days out from the election, it is a political gift to Peter Dutton who is trailing badly in the polls
The campaign was a major blow for the Labor government and Anthony Albanese, who hinged his legacy on the Voice.
He went to the 2022 federal election with the referendum promise, spoke about it in his first speech as the PM and campaigned tirelessly for most of 2023, instead of focussing on the election issue that mattered to most Aussies – the cost of living.
Daily Mail Australia has asked the Prime minister’s office whether he too believes the Voice will one day be resurrected.
Four days out from the election, it is a political gift to Peter Dutton who is trailing badly in the polls.
The Opposition Leader tried to bring up the failure of the Voice in the leaders’ debate on Sunday night in the context of Welcome to Country ceremonies.
He said he thought the ceremonies were ‘overdone’, cheapening their significance.
‘It divides the country, not dissimilar to what the Prime Minister did with the Voice,’ he said.
More to come.
