November 30, 2022
KENNEDY MP Bob Katter has called on the Prime Minister to include an alternative question in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum.
Mr Katter said he agreed that First Australians deserved to have their voice and their needs heard and recognised by the Parliament, but stressed the importance of that voice being a true representation of Indigenous people.
He proposed members of community areas geographically delineated be given the right to elect one senator to represent First Australians of those communities in Parliament, as opposed to a government-appointed “silver tongue from Sydney University.”
“Canberra has been granted two senators with a few hundred thousand people, and it’s a similar situation for the Northern Territory as well,” Mr Katter said.
“So I can't see how you could argue that these people in community areas, who desperately need special representation, shouldn't be given at least one senator in the Australian Senate.”
Mr Katter warned Labor of the previous government failures when interjecting in First Australian communities and “wanting to help the people”.
“Whilst I'm not advocating people vote against this proposal, I am urging in the strongest possible way against a continuation of tokenism, separatism and paternalism. This nation cannot prevail with the overriding evil of do-gooder paternalism.
“Meanwhile, they will not give us the right to own our own home. There is no such thing as freehold title in the community areas. Since there's no such thing as private land ownership in community areas the current "Mickey Mouse" arrangements will not be recognised by the banks.
“I've never heard of a commercial enterprise occurring without a bank loan, and I've never heard of a bank loaning money without a mortgage over the title deed.
“There’s racist laws that say white fellas are allowed to drink but black fellas are not, which has the most obvious of outcomes. So everyone who is black that drinks alcohol gets a conviction and therefore can't get a blue card. No blue card, you can't get a government job.
“They took away the market gardens, so try buying fresh fruit and vegetables in this communities, where the life expectancy is 56.
“First Australian have the highest incarceration rates of any identifiable group of people on earth, the largest stolen children rates and the lowest life expectancy – how’s a ‘voice to parliament’ going to be any different when the cries so far have fallen on deaf ears?”
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