A panel discussion on the Indigenous voice to parliament with former prime minister Tony Abbott and journalist Joe Hildebrand was interrupted by a First Nations man who slammed the discussions.
The panel discussion in the south Sydney seat of Hughes, hosted by local Liberal MP Jenny Ware, which was streamed live on her social media page, was ending before an audience member called for wider perspectives from Indigenous communities.
“Can we please hear from a First Nations person before we go?” she asked. Ware then told the woman that there was “simply no time”.
Ware moved on to her concluding remarks when an unknown First Nations man made his way to the stage and introduced himself as a Dhungutti and Gumbaynggirr man from NSW’s mid-north coast.
The man told Abbott and Hildebrand that while he “respects them” they are talking about “system words” and that the Howard government dismantled the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission which was the “voice” of Indigenous people.
“I come from an era where there was discrimination, I come from an era where I was told I was too dark. These are the words you all want to think; colonisation, constitution, law, policies, stolen generations, they are system words and those words have been detrimental to Aboriginal people from day one,” he said.
“You’re up here Tony [Abbott], Joe [Hildebrand] talking about the constitution. That’s a system word! And it’s been detrimental to people.
“… Tony you were a minister in the Howard government and the Howard government abolished Atsic [Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission]. That was our voice,” he said.
A man from the crowd who interjected was told “listen old man, I have the stage not you,” before the interjections, many in favour of what the man was saying, became louder. He told the crowd “the truth hurts” to clapping and applause from the audience, before Ware moved to wrap up the event and the live stream was cut off.
Abbott said he went to speak to the man after the forum and “had a good discussion”.
“I can understand he wanted to have his say, and I’m glad we were able to shake hands and have a constructive and cordial discussion afterwards,” he said.
Ware has been contacted for comment.
The Hughes MP does not agree with the wording of the referendum question put forward by the government, but has said she will “consult widely” with her electorate before voting on the legislation which will set the question in stone.
The community forum was advertised to go for about two hours, with Hildebrand and Abbott given 10 minutes each to speak, before the floor was opened up to questions. The live stream on Ware’s facebook page runs for about one hour and 40 minutes.
Ware has also set up a survey which she has invited her constituents to fill in and submit to her, but the questions do not include context and in some cases are misrepresentations of the voice’s power.
Ware repeats the debunked claim “this could mean that the voice could have influence on matters stretching from submarines to parking tickets”.
Hildebrand, in his role as yes advocate, spent time in the forum explaining the parliament maintained ultimate control over any legislation and the voice was an advisory role.
“The parliament can do whatever it wants, I don’t know why this is so difficult for people to get their heads around,” he said.
“The parliament can do absolutely anything. It has supreme authority over the voice and anything it does do, it can then undo and then the people can change the parliament. So there is almost a limitless amount of checks and balances on it, because the parliament can always reverse anything it has done.”
It was shortly after that someone asked to hear from a First Nations person.
In a statement, Ware said the event was well attended by about 130 local community members.
“The acknowledgement of Country was given by Aunty Gail Smith. I was delighted to see the Gandangara Local Aboriginal Land Council attend the event,” she said.
“Panellists Joe Hildebrand (for the yes campaign) and the Hon Tony Abbott AC (for the no campaign) approached the debate in a respectful and thoughtful manner.
“Hildebrand and Abbott attended on their own time. Being respectful of their time as well as the audience, the event concluded after a series of moderated questions as well as questions from the audience. The event lasted for almost 2 hours. At the conclusion of the event, on the recommendation of the AFP, I left the event.”
