Veteran Indigenous rights activist Gary Foley has warned the Indigenous voice to parliament will face the same fate as its predecessors and be ignored by governments.
Prof Foley – a critic of the proposed advisory body on Indigenous affairs – argued the voice referendum would not succeed due to Australia’s increasingly polarised political and media landscape.
Speaking at an event in Melbourne on Wednesday evening, Prof Foley said the voice would make “no difference” to the lives of First Nations people and not be taken seriously by federal governments.
“History shows governments will not take notice of it [an advisory body] if the advice it gives is not palatable to whichever government is in power at the time,” he said.
“Just because it is embedded in the constitution – big deal. It doesn’t mean a thing.”
Prof Foley pointed to previous Indigenous advisory bodies like the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (Atsic) which operated from 1990 to 2005. It was abolished by the Howard government after facing allegations of corruption and mismanagement.
But the Albanese government has argued the key difference is the voice will be enshrined in the constitution, meaning it cannot be abolished by future governments.
Prof Foley argued if First Nations people achieved economic and political independence – self determination - the last thing they would want is to be “embedded in the constitution of a foreign country.”
Prof Foley, a historian at Victoria University who co-founded the Aboriginal tent embassy in 1972, added that he would not vote in the referendum.
He said there would be no change until Australians could “face up to the truth of their own history”.
“It may be unpalatable, but it’s a necessary thing that Australians need to do.. the problem lives in the broader Australian community – it’s called Anglo Australian racism,” he said.
Prof Foley – a radical Indigenous rights activist – said he was buoyed by Victoria’s nation-leading Indigenous truth-telling commission that could help the public confront the systemic racism experienced by First Nations people.
Prof Foley said he did not anticipate the referendum would be successful due to Australia’s deepening polarisation and the lack of bipartisan support from the federal opposition.
“Don’t expect you’re going to get a yes vote in the current political climate,” he said.
Prof Foley also pointed to the 1967 referendum – where Australians voted overwhelmingly to recognise Indigenous people in the census and allow the commonwealth to make laws for them. He said “nothing changed” after the referendum but this led to the creation of the Black power movement – where he was a key member - in the late 60s.
Prof Foley, a Gumbaynggirr man, has previously attacked the proposed voice, labelling it “window dressing” and a “diversion” from the real issue facing Indigenous people which he argued was entrenched systemic racism.
He has argued that a “no” vote at the referendum – which could be held as early as October- would set Indigenous activism back 50 years.
The proposed amendment to enshrine the voice in the constitution – has sparked fierce debate within Indigenous communities.
Supporters of the voice accused organisers of “Invasion Day” anti-Australia rallies on 26 January of hijacking the events to call for a “no” vote in the referendum.
Prof Foley spoke at the “Invasion Day” Melbourne rally and likened the voice to “lipstick on a pig.”
In February federal senator Lidia Thorpe quit the Greens over her criticism of the voice referendum – at odds with the party – saying she needed to defect to speak freely on Indigenous rights and the Black sovereignty movement. Thorpe has advocated for a treaty with First Nations people to be prioritised over a voice to parliament.
But constitutional experts, the Albanese government have rejected the suggestion that entrenching the voice to parliament in the constitution would impact Indigenous sovereignty.
