Indigenous

Mrs McArthur said, “it seems the starkest dividing line in Australia is not between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people but between the inner-city elites of the eastern states and the rest of the country ... The no vote was not a vote for the status quo or against any action; in fact it has highlighted the failures of the status quo. I hope it will prove the catalyst for a full audit of the expenditure directed to Aboriginal issues across Australia so that taxpayer money can be effectively spent to close the gap without permanently constitutionally entrenching new experimental, ineffective and unnecessary division.”

Residents from the Ivanhoe area have contacted my office recently to advise that they weren't made aware of a Remote Voter Services team visiting the town ahead of the 2023 Referendum on a Voice to Parliament. I reached out to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) as I believe there's an assumption that people Australia-wide receive all of their information online.

The debate on the upcoming vote for the Australian Indigenous Voice referendum has become “divisive” in the region, says Member of Barker Tony Pasin ... “Differences of opinion and robust debate in an MP’s office are to be expected and indeed encouraged, but the tirade of abuse directed at my staff (I was interstate) was totally unacceptable ... Ordinarily, a constitutional convention is held prior to a referendum to seek consensus."