Anthony Albanese goes into damage control as Penny Wong declares the Voice is inevitable in bombshell pre-election move... so do YOU buy it?

By MAX AITCHISON, POLITICAL REPORTER, AUSTRALIA

Published: | Updated:

Anthony Albanese has denied that one of his most senior ministers said the Voice to Parliament will be resurrected despite being overwhelmingly rejected by voters at a referendum. 

Foreign Minister Penny Wong sparked a political firestorm three days before the federal election by predicting that the Voice – a separate indigenous body with powers to influence government legislation - will eventually be introduced.

'We'll look back on it in ten years' time and it'll be a bit like marriage equality,' Senator Wong told the Betoota Talks podcast.

'I always used to say, marriage equality, which took us such a bloody fight to get that done, and I thought, all this fuss...

'It'll become something, it'll be like, people go "did we even have an argument about that?"

'Kids today, or even adults today, barely kind of clock that it (same-sex marriage) used to be an issue. Remember how big an issue that was in the culture wars? Blimey, just endless.'

But the Prime Minister has rejected suggestions that Senator Wong's comments indicated the Albanese government will have another go at introducing the Voice. 

'She didn't say that at all,' Mr Albanese told ABC Radio Melbourne on Wednesday morning. 

Anthony Albanese has denied that one of his most senior ministers claimed a resurrected Voice to Parliament was inevitable in Australia

Anthony Albanese has denied that one of his most senior ministers claimed a resurrected Voice to Parliament was inevitable in Australia

Foreign Minister Penny Wong sparked a political firestorm three days before Aussies head to the polls by suggesting that there will one day be a Voice – and people will wonder why there was ever an argument about it

Foreign Minister Penny Wong sparked a political firestorm three days before Aussies head to the polls by suggesting that there will one day be a Voice – and people will wonder why there was ever an argument about it

'She spoke about how people will look back on what the issues were. That's very different from saying it's inevitable.'

The Labor spin machine went into overdrive on Wednesday morning, trying to negate any suggestion that the re-election of the Albanese government would lead to the resurrection of a highly unpopular policy. 

'The Minister was clearly reflecting on the heated debate on how we address reconciliation and close the gap – and saying that as progress is achieved, today’s arguments will no longer be an issue,' a campaign spokesperson said. 

'The government has been clear that we respect the outcome of the referendum, and we need to find different paths to achieve reconciliation in this country.'

Mr Albanese has repeatedly said there will be no second referendum, after Australians voted 60 per cent to 40 per cent in 2023 against the creation of a Voice. 

Asked by Channel Seven's Political Editor Mark Riley during Sunday night's leaders' debate whether he still believed in the Voice, Mr Albanese responded: 'It's gone'.

'I respect the outcome (of the referendum), we live in a democracy,' he said.

Pushed on his position, he added: 'We need to find different paths to affect reconciliation.'

The campaign was a major blow for the Labor government and Anthony Albanese, who hinged his legacy on the Voice

The campaign was a major blow for the Labor government and Anthony Albanese, who hinged his legacy on the Voice

But now it can be revealed that on the day before the election was called, the government refused to rule out whether work was still progressing on Voice, Treaty and Truth.  

At Senate Estimates on 27 March, Senator Wong refused multiple times to answer a simple question from Liberal Senator Michaelia Cash: 'Is the Prime Minister still committed to Voice, Treaty, Truth?'

Instead, Senator Wong directed a government official to answer. 

'The government remains committed to the principles of the Uluru Statement and continues to engage in good faith with leaders and communities around next steps,' Greta Doherty, First Assistant Secretary of the Social Policy division responded. 

'Government acknowledges there is considerable work underway at a state and territory level on treaty and truth-telling process - and government welcomes this work.' 

Wong's comments are an unwelcome distraction for the government during the closing days of a campaign in which it had established itself in the eyes of pundits - and bookmakers - as likely to be re-elected.

The disastrous Voice campaign was a major blow for the Labor government and Albanese, who hinged his legacy on the proposal.  

Senator Wong's comments are a political gift to Peter Dutton who had been trailing in the polls three days out from the election and badly in need of such a Labor own goal.

The Opposition Leader brought up the failure of the Voice referendum in the leaders' debate on Sunday night as he addressed the debate over Welcome to Country ceremonies. 

He said he thought the ceremonies were 'overdone', cheapening their significance.

'It divides the country, not dissimilar to what the Prime Minister did with the Voice,' he said. 

On Wednesday morning he accused Senator Wong of 'letting the cat out of the bag'.

'Under a Labor-Greens government we see this secret plan to legislate the Voice and Penny Wong has let that cat out of the bag,' Mr Dutton told reporters. 

‘People will be opposed to that because they thought they sent a very clear message to the Prime Minister that they didn’t want the Voice.’

Mr Dutton claimed legislating the Voice would be ‘one of the first items of business for a Labor-Greens government’.

‘It's obvious the Prime Minister shares the view of Penny Wong,’ he added.

‘He's just not as honest as Penny Wong and Australians should know that if you vote for Anthony Albanese, he hasn't listened the first time around in relation to your decision on the Voice referendum.

‘Send him a message at this election that no, we're not going to support a Voice legislated by Labour and the Greens and treaty and truth-telling. We expressed our view very clearly.’

Penny's Voice comments in full 

HOST: It's an interesting thing because we have all this stuff happening elsewhere in the world, and obviously, you know, that's your job to deal with all that and look at that - at least be aware of it.

But in Australia we've got a federal election happening and we've got domestic politics which of late – and I think really ramped up in the pandemic – is we've seen just such an increase in the culture wars, you know what I mean?

It distracts from a lot of things but we have: Trans rights, Aboriginal flags, woke schools, yada yada yada, all that stuff.

Is this a new thing or as someone who's been (the) longest serving cabinet minister, female cabinet minister, has this always been around?

WONG: I think it's just Peter Dutton doing what John Howard did, is you try and pick a fight in order to define yourself and so that people don't ask you what you're really gonna do. Frankly, that's it. That’s just end of story.

HOST: Throwing dead cats on the table.

WONG: You remember the fight over the apology or the black armband view of history or whatever, the fight over school curriculum? I think we all know he wants to talk about that because he wants to define himself on those grounds because he doesn't want to talk about cuts to Medicare, doesn't want to talk about $600 billion of nuclear reactors, all of that kind of stuff.

But can I go back to the world ... I mean, it's not just me dealing with this, I mean, the government and Albo, he's had to be a prime minister in a time where we've got to navigate a pretty different world.

The thing that is, and he's a mate of mine… There are many things that I think are really great about him, doesn't forget where he came from, but he's also really disciplined and really firm about the direction he wants to take... He’s good to work with.

HOST: That's the funny thing, right, with the referendum: is this an example of that? You know, the referendum looked like it was going to fail, everyone who was supporting it had hope, but back to the culture wars, that's what it turned into. 

The opponents turned it into that. Albo had the chance to, to pull the pin on that…early days before we'd even seen… all the confusion set in, ‘if you don't know, vote no’. But is that what you're saying there, he said he was going to do it?

WONG: Yeah, he's not a pull the pin kind of guy.

HOST: So he's gonna wear it – wear the bark getting taken off him by his opponents.

WONG: He thought it was the right thing to do and a lot of the First Nations leaders wanted the opportunity. I think we'll look back on it in 10 years' time, and it'll be a bit like marriage equality, don't you reckon?

Like I always used to say marriage equality, which took us such a bloody fight to get that done, and I thought all this fuss, it'll become something, it'll be like, people go, do we have an argument about that?

…Like kids today, or any, even adults today, barely kind of clock that it used to be an issue.

Remember how big an issue that was in cultural wars?

HOST: Yes, I remember (Alan) Joyce getting hit with a pie.

WONG: Blimey. It’s just endless.

Source: Betoota Talks podcast 

Australia PoliticsAnthony AlbanesePenny Wong