Sally Sara:
Well back to politics now. This month marks four years since First Nations peoples from across the country gathered at Uluru to work on a new pathway towards reconciliation. It culminated with the release of the Statement from the Heart calling for the establishment of a Voice to Parliament. Both the Turnbull Government at the time and the Morrison Government now have rejected a referendum on the Voice. Now, Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg has written a book called “Buraadja”, which is the Dhurga word for “tomorrow”, and it’s an attempt to engage with the Uluru Statement from the Heart through a liberal lens. Senator Andrew Bragg, welcome to RN Breakfast.
Andrew Bragg:
Good morning Sally.
Sally Sara:
Why did you decide to write this book?
Andrew Bragg:
We’ve talked about reconciliation and recognition my whole life and I think it’s important that we make good on some of the commitments that we have made over that time. And I think that the concepts in the Uluru statement are good and nation-building and we should progress them.
Sally Sara:
You’re talking about a legislated Voice to Parliament. What would that look like?
Andrew Bragg:
Well I think that there should be obligation on the Commonwealth to consult Indigenous people on laws and policies which affect them. And that can be in the Constitution and then you could legislate a Voice which would maintain Parliamentary supremacy, which is important to constitutional conservatives like me. But it would, of course, then allow for that agency that Indigenous people are seeking so that they can have a say, as I say, over the laws and policies which affect them.
Sally Sara:
What do you think is the view within the party room now at this stage on this issue?
Andrew Bragg:
I think an enormous amount of damage was done some years ago when the Uluru Statement was released when it was talked about as a “third chamber”. I mean that has been proven not to be the case. I mean basically the concept of a Voice is getting more input onto policies and laws, which is hardly a third chamber. So, one of the reasons I wanted to write this book was to put to death forever that idea that a Voice would be a third chamber. And I think there is a good amount of support within my party for this agenda.
Sally Sara:
Is it something that’s being discussed much though in reality?
Andrew Bragg:
Well it’s something we’re doing, because we are progressing the Voice through Minister Ken Wyatt’s process where we’re seeking community input on what a Voice could look like, what a national Voice could look like, what a local and regional Voice would look like. I think that is promoting quite a lot of good conversations. I mean, for example, Barnaby Joyce, when Uluru was released, said it was a third chamber but now his view is that it could actually be quite a good reform and he has recanted his position. But we’re still stuck with this language that a Voice would be third chamber, which is hugely damaging and wrong.
Sally Sara:
What do you think about this idea of a Voice and how does that fit with your Liberal principles?
Andrew Bragg:
Well we have 18 different laws on the statute books in Canberra which are made specially for Indigenous people, and Indigenous people are the only Australians that have a slew of race-based laws; native title, heritage protection, land rights, Aboriginal corporations for example. And so the idea of the denying people a say on these special laws is illiberal, so if we are going to show true fidelity to liberalism, we need to create a special system to provide input onto special laws that we make.
Sally Sara:
You’ve also had some things to say about the Australia Day holiday and the possibility of another day being celebrated on the 27th of January. What do you think about that?
Andrew Bragg:
Well I think we should tell the truth about our past. That is very important and a very important part of reconciliation. I think the idea of moving Australia Day would be a denial of our history. That is still a very important day in the history of the continent, and I think we could have another day on January 27th which would be there to promote reflection upon the contribution of Indigenous culture and heritage to our nation. And by the way I think people would enjoy having an extra day off in January.
Sally Sara:
So, you’re talking about two days?
Andrew Bragg:
Yeah.
Sally Sara:
What about changes in school curriculum? Do you think more needs to happen there?
Andrew Bragg:
Well I think this is pretty simple and some of the public commentary on this, I think, has been a bit overblown. We should be teaching the full balance of Australian history; Indigenous, non-Indigenous. I’ve always liked Noel Pearson’s formulation of modern Australia; Indigenous heritage, British institutions and a multicultural gift. And I think that should be the basis of how we teach our own history in Australia. It’s also important that we teach the foundations of Western Civilisation which, of course, has had such a huge impact on our lives in Australia as one of the most successful nations on Earth.
Sally Sara:
What about the wrongs; teaching about what happened in Australia as well?
Andrew Bragg:
Well we should definitely be teaching about that. We should teach about the Black Line in Tasmania. We should teach about slavery in Queensland and indentured work. We should talk about policies of discrimination and destruction. For us to be truly reconciled, we need to talk about the good and the bad.
Sally Sara:
Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg thank you for joining us on RN Breakfast.
Andrew Bragg:
Thanks Sally. Cheers.
