What we learned: Wednesday, 5 April
It’s been another big day in politics, led by the Liberal party’s decision to reject the Indigenous voice to parliament, an announcement that deemed the party “a small racist rump sliding into irrelevance” according to the Greens. Here are the major developments:
Peter Dutton has confirmed the Liberal party has resolved to formally oppose the Indigenous voice referendum and will be part of the no campaign. In a press conference today, he and Sussan Ley said the party was pro constitutional recognition but didn’t wish for a separate question to be included in the referendum.
Frontbenchers will be required to vote no, but backbenchers will be free to dissent from the party line. So far Andrew Bragg, Bridget Archer and Russell Broadbent are against the party’s proposal. Indigenous Australians minister, Linda Burney, wasn’t deterred. She said Liberal opposition to voice was an internal party matter.
In finance, Philip Lowe appeared at the National Press Club today, with not altogether wonderful news. The Reserve Bank governor said Australians will grapple with high rental prices for years to come, as housing supply fails to keep pace with population growth. He also warned the cash rate will likely need to rise further, despite a pause this week.
And Terence Darrell Kelly, the man who kidnapped four-year-old Cleo Smith, will spend at least 11 and a half years in jail for the abduction. Smith was taken from her family’s tent in remote Western Australia in October 2021.
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Bridget Archer says ‘evidence is writ large’ Liberals failing to attract voters
Liberal MP Bridget Archer has said the Liberals’ current offering is “not resonating with Australians”, saying her party needs to rethink things.
In the wake of the Liberals’ decision to oppose the referendum, Archer says she doesn’t want to be linked “in any way” to the No campaign and that she doesn’t support her party’s position.
In an interview with Triple J’s Hack, the Liberal moderate notes her former colleagues have lost seats to centrist candidates, not those on the right (think Josh Frydenberg losing to Monique Ryan, Dave Sharma to Allegra Spender, Katie Allen to Labor’s Michelle Ananda-Rajah...).
“The evidence is writ large,” she said.
The Liberal Party has to make a decision whether they will return to representing the views of Australiasns or if they will remain wedded to this tribal ideology that has developed over time that is not resonating with voters.
Asked about the voice referendum, she said “I’ll campaign actively for Yes. My view has not changed on that. I do not support this position,” she said.
I will not in any way attach myself to a vote No in relation to this. If that requires that I cross the floor, then yes.
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