The conveners of the Greens’ First Nations advisory group say they do not support the voice to parliament or a referendum on Indigenous constitutional recognition, publicly rebuking their federal party room and instead backing the departed senator Lidia Thorpe’s opposition to the move.
Dr Tjanara Goreng Goreng, the national co-convener of the Greens’ First Nations Network, claimed other members may follow Thorpe out the door, and pushed back on the decision of federal MPs and senators to publicly campaign for the voice.
“We don’t agree to a voice in the constitution. We won’t move from that position. It has no power,” she told Guardian Australia.
However, other Greens MPs claimed the First Nations Network, also known as the Blak Greens, had told a party meeting last week that they shouldn’t oppose the voice to parliament, backing a version of events leader Adam Bandt wrote to members in an email on Tuesday.
Several MPs said that they believed the convenors had told them they couldn’t vote against the voice. They said the Blak Greens had issued a statement which was opposed to the advice they had earlier given the party room – which was advice that they “can only say yes” to the referendum.
The Greens held a special national council meeting on Tuesday night after Thorpe quit the party on Monday, citing her desire to advance a Blak Sovereignty movement. Hours after her announcement, the Greens party room officially resolved to back the voice and campaign for the referendum.
“A strong First Nations body would be a further step towards true self-determination and justice,” Bandt, said on Monday, explaining the party’s position.
One person who attended Tuesday’s meeting, who asked not to be named so they could speak freely, said it went “surprisingly well”.
They characterised Bandt’s statement to the meeting as saying the party “can’t let perfect get in the way of the good”, and that the Greens would continue to advocate for the truth and treaty elements of the Uluru statement.
Bandt said this week: “I don’t think a no vote will get us closer to treaty and truth, but I respect that others in the First Nations community may have a different view on that.”
But Goreng Goreng and fellow co-convener Dominic Wy Kanak released their own statement after Tuesday’s meeting, opposing the voice.
“We do not believe the voice to parliament will solve the problems occurring in First Nations communities or in black-white relations in Australia,” they said.
“We do not feel it is necessary to ask the whole country, through a referendum, to approve the establishment of an advisory body that is subservient to the Australian parliament and gives us no rights of self-determination as outlined in the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People.”
Thorpe was a co-founder of the First Nations Network.
Goreng Goreng told Guardian Australia in January: “A treaty is more important to us … the voice should be included in the parameters for treaty.”
In an email sent to Greens members, Bandt wrote that the First Nations group said in another meeting last week that the party “cannot say no” to the voice to parliament. In an interview with Guardian Australia, Goreng Goreng rebuffed that suggestion; however, Greens MPs in the meeting claim Bandt’s characterisation of those comments was accurate.
Guardian Australia has seen a summary of notes from the meeting, taken by a Bandt staffer and which were later approved in writing by Goreng Goreng and Wy Kanak. Those notes detail the convenors saying “we can only say yes” to the voice.
The notes also state the convenors said “it’s what they come up with in detail. We’re not going to say no to a voice but there is a lot of nuance.” The notes also state that the convenors emphasised a focus on sovereignty, and claimed the voice referendum proposal had “limitations” they wanted the party to continue improving.
In their statement on Tuesday, Goreng Goreng and Wy Kanak – who described their position as “the AGFNN members at this Special Meeting” – said they didn’t support “being forced into the racist constitution”. They were also critical of the government for not including treaty negotiations, or establishing a truth and justice commission, alongside the voice.
“We do not support constitutional recognition to implant an advisory voice to parliament with no equal legislative power into the Australian constitution,” they said.
“We reserve the right to protect our sovereignty and achieve justice for our people and stand with Senator Thorpe on this important matter.”
The Greens have not announced who will replace Thorpe as First Nations spokesperson. Some members expect the West Australian senator Dorinda Cox will take the role.
Goreng Goreng said the Blak Greens wanted either Bandt or the deputy leader, Mehreen Faruqi, in the First Nations portfolio.
One source suggested an option where the Greens split the First Nations portfolio in two, with one member responsible for treaty, truth and voice, and another for broader Indigenous issues.
Goreng Goreng said she expected other Greens members might leave to support Thorpe’s sovereignty movement, but that she personally would stay with the party.
Jonathan Sriranganathan, a Greens councillor in Brisbane, called it “crappy” for the federal party room to publicly back the voice shortly after Thorpe’s departure, claiming grassroots members had not been fully involved in the decision.
In a Facebook post, which linked to the Blak Greens statement, he said the party should have conducted more forums and member votes, saying there was “an obvious divergence of views among the Greens support base” and claimed his federal colleagues “conceded too much, too easily”.
“I’m sure the Greens MPs FEEL that the majority of First Nations people support the current proposed model of an advisory First Nations Voice to Parliament. And that may well be true, but you don’t actually KNOW unless you ask,” Sriranganathan wrote.
This story was updated on 9 February, 2023, to add that a summary of notes from the party meeting, taken by a Bandt staffer, were later approved in writing by Goreng Goreng and Wy Kanak.
