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Transcript Interview with Tom Connell on Sky News

Authors
Senator Andrew Bragg
Liberal Senator for New South Wales
Publication Date,
January 25, 2023
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January 25, 2023

![](https://uploads- ssl.webflow.com/6080bc3bbbffd33dc6ae5d81/63d0c3e9a156bddce666bc92_Sky_News_Australia_logo_-_2019.svg) ##### **Tom Connell** The situation in Alice Springs has led some politicians to say an Indigenous Voice to Parliament should not be a priority. But one Liberal Senator says if a Voice were in place, it could have helped prevent the outbreak of violence. I spoke to Andrew Bragg a short time ago. Andrew Bragg, thanks for your time. A lot of focus on this crime crisis that's been described as in Alice Springs. Is it as simple as alcohol? ##### **Senator Andrew Bragg** Well, I'm not on the ground there, but it's certainly I've listened very carefully to what the representatives have been saying and it sounds like alcohol is a significant factor there in the violence and lawlessness. ##### **Tom Connell** It's interesting to note because we're talking in the lead up over the summer, there's been debate around the Voice and giving Indigenous Australians a Voice, but seemingly in this instance, people are talking about more of a paternalistic approach. ##### **Senator Andrew Bragg** Look, in my experience, when you go into remote communities and we have them in New South Wales and Western New South Wales, in places like Bourke and Boorowa and Walgett generally speaking, it's the Elders, the Indigenous Elders who often are wanting to have more control over communities where there are problems like the abuse of alcohol. So I would have thought that a Voice would be a mechanism which would help community have more control. ##### **Tom Connell** So a Voice in this circumstance might have helped that because a Voice is talking about federal laws, right? How would a Voice of… ##### **Senator Andrew Bragg** Well, there's also local and regional I mean, there's two components of the Voice and if you go through the Langton-Calma Report, it talks about the national Voice giving advice to the Parliament on laws, largely on policy, national policy, but also local and regional would give advice to governments of all levels. ##### **Tom Connell** So the NT Government could have had that advice because it was the one that reversed the sort of ten year long ban which we knew had this sunset cause from the Gillard Government. ##### **Senator Andrew Bragg** And one of the problems you've had in Indigenous policy over the long run has been the turnover of bodies. Now, when you have a more permanent structure in place, you'd like to think you'd get better advice over the long run. ##### **Tom Connell** Your colleagues do seem to be inching towards not supporting the Voice. Do you agree with the points being made by Peter Dutton? ##### **Senator Andrew Bragg** I think in relation to the detail point, it is important that the government put forward a policy. You don't seek a new power in the Constitution unless you have a plan to use it. And I think the position that I've had for a long time is that they should present an Exposure Draft Bill alongside an amendment. ##### **Tom Connell** Right, so to what extent do you agree with what he's saying, though? What detail would you need to continue supporting it? You support it at the moment. How much detail do you need or are you still supporting it now? Do you need more detail to support it. Where are you at? ##### **Senator Andrew Bragg** I've always supported the concept of a Voice. I mean, I think it's a very thoroughly liberal concept to provide communities with more agency and more control. The points that Mr Dutton is making and Mr Leeser are making in relation to detail that there should be a policy of the government to use the power they're seeking in the Constitution. I think that's entirely reasonable. ##### **Tom Connell** Could it be necessarily does it need to be an Exposure Draft, though? Could they just explain how in a shorter form, do you think? ##### **Senator Andrew Bragg** Well, my preference would be to see an Exposure Draft Bill, and that's a position that was put forward by Noel Pearson when he gave a speech to the National Museum eighteen months ago, that there should be an amendment alongside the policy or the bill. ##### **Tom Connell** Right. It's important to note that what people are voting for is not that it's a change, it's a much simpler change in the Constitution. But why wouldn't that legislation my point being that legislation that we get, that's fine, but that could be changed any day. A future parliament could have a very different piece of legislation. So that's not a permanent part of what people are voting for, is it? ##### **Senator Andrew Bragg** Yeah, but I want this to succeed, so I don't agree with that approach. I think you need to show people how it will work, and when you have a real life example of a major problem happening in Australia right now, you need to be able to connect those problems to the solution, which would be better community consultation, more community control in the form of a Voice. ##### **Tom Connell** So you think more detail could actually help it because people go right, we see how this helps with certain issues. ##### **Senator Andrew Bragg** Well, I'm trying to push this in the right direction. ##### **Tom Connell** Are you concerned your party's not? ##### **Senator Andrew Bragg** Well, I think some people are against it for various reasons. I mean, I won't speak for them, but I'm a supporter of the Voice. ##### **Tom Connell** But do you think there's a growing feeling within your party that it should oppose it? ##### **Senator Andrew Bragg** Well, I think the government could have done more to work across the Parliament to build consensus. Now, this is a vote of the public, not of the politicians. We will be asked to give advice on how people should vote and I want to be able to recommend a 'yes vote', but I have reservations about the way that some of this has been run. ##### **Tom Connell** If you had to guess right now, what do you think Peter Dutton's headed on this? He's spoken about a Party Room view. Is that a simple majority, do you think? And then if the majority carries the day, everybody has to campaign for it or it's up to individuals. ##### **Senator Andrew Bragg** I think Mr Dutton to express his view that he has an open mind. And I think once there is a clearer policy on the table, we can discuss that as a Liberal Party. ##### **Tom Connell** But do you think each person would be free to campaign how they... ##### **Senator Andrew Bragg** Well I mean, historically, the view has been that when you've had public votes on Same-Sex Marriage or Local Government or the Republic, Liberal Party has allowed people to vote 'yes' and 'no' simultaneously. I mean, the Liberal Party is big enough for people to have their own views on these things. ##### **Tom Connell** All right, Andrew Bragg, thanks for your time. ##### **Senator Andrew Bragg** Thanks, Tom. ‍

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