Australian opposition under fire for opposing Indigenous Voice to Parliament

ANKARA (AA) – The Australian opposition was under fire for opposing Indigenous Voice to Parliament as Indigenous leaders accused opposition leader Peter Dutton of committing a “Judas betrayal” of the Voice.

Noel Pearson, one of the most prominent Indigenous leaders in Australia, said Dutton has rejected the Voice to Parliament for his own political gain.

“I was troubled by dreams, and the spectre of the Dutton Liberal Party’s Judas betrayal of our country,” ABC News quoted Pearson as saying.

“They have had 11 years of power to work on a proper proposal for recognition, and the decision they have taken yesterday is a very poor outcome of 11 years of power,” he added.

On Wednesday, the opposition leader announced opposition to the establishment of a consultative body, an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, through a referendum. He also accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of dividing the country over a proposed federal consultative body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, also known as the Indigenous Voice.

Dutton’s comments came after the Albanese government formally introduced legislation in parliament last week to hold a referendum to recognize Indigenous people in the constitution and to set up “the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called Dutton’s statement “sad” and said he will be supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in campaigning for a “Yes” vote.

“This is an opportunity for Australia. This can still be a moment of unity for Australia,” Albanese told reporters in Sydney.

“So I am very, very optimistic. I was at an event last night with Imams (Muslim prayer leaders and religious scholars) from all around Australia at Iftar (meal for opening the fast), who expressed their very strong support going forward. All of the religious organizations that I have spoken to have welcomed constitutional recognition,” said the premier, according to a transcript published on his official website.

Albanese said last week while unveiling the referendum question that if the constitution is amended it will have a new chapter titled “Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.”

Following Albanese’s center-left Australian Labor Party’s election victory in May of last year, he announced that his government would include Indigenous peoples as original inhabitants in the constitution.

Since the colonization of Australia by British settlers in 1788, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have faced hardships, ranging from the loss of traditional culture and homelands to the forced removal of children and denial of citizenship rights, according to Australian Human Rights Commission. “This history of injustice has meant that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have been denied access to basic human rights, such as rights to health, housing, employment, and education,” it added.