The prime minister’s Garma speech was the “unequivocal” support for an Indigenous voice to parliament of an Australian leader, not a party politician, the Cape York leader, leading “yes” campaigner and Guugu-Yimithirr lawyer Noel Pearson has said.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, told the Garma festival in north-east Arnhem Land on Saturday that he would not defer or delay the referendum, and dismissed “no” campaigners as being “desperate to talk about anything but the actual question”.
Albanese told the crowd there is “nothing to fear and everything to gain” from an Indigenous voice to parliament, in his strongest pitch yet for Australians to vote yes in the upcoming referendum.
“There will be no delaying or deferring this referendum,” he said. “We will not deny the urgency of this moment. We will not kick the can down the road. We will not abandon substance for symbolism, or retreat to platitudes at the expense of progress.”
Pearson said the referendum question was now in the hands of the Australian people and should be beyond retail politics.
“I know the opposition and the ‘no’ campaign want to paint [Albanese] as a leader of the Labor party, that this is some kind of political contest between blue and red … but it’s not,” Pearson told Guardian Australia after the speech.
“This is not a federal election, this is a referendum about Australia. I see the PM as sending a message – as his predecessors had the opportunity to do and didn’t.”
The recent parliamentary debate about potential future treaties was “just another example of making politics.”
“They’re trying to bang the drum of party politics, and that’s not a proper representation of where we’re at,” Pearson said. “What we’re focused on is the referendum.
“This is what is before us. You can talk about treaty but … let’s climb mount Everest first, before we try K2.”
Replying to criticism from “no” campaigners that a voice would lead to waste and more bureaucracy, Pearson said the voice would do the opposite.
“Eventually, when we rationalise Indigenous affairs and we spend money on things that are truly productive for Aboriginal people on the ground, we’ll get rid of a lot of waste, we’ll get rid of a lot of duplication, we’ll get rid of a lot of things that actually have no impact,” he said.
“[Former Liberal PM] John Howard used to talk about the Aboriginal industry. Well, that Aboriginal industry is not occupied by Aboriginal people and there are a whole lot of organisations and people that are running programs and are the recipients of the investment, where it’s doubtful how effective all of that is.
“It is actually self-determination at the end of the day, saying give us the power, give us the responsibility and then you can blame us for what happens.
“With the rights and responsibility we will close the gap.”
Also on Saturday, a new alliance of seven big Aboriginal and Torres Strait land councils announced their support of the voice.
The group said the referendum is “the best last opportunity” for Australians to “move forward together as a truly united nation”.
The alliance includes the Kimberley, Northern, Tiwi, Anindilyakwa and Cape York land councils, the North Australian Indigenous Land and the Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA).
