Back in 2017, the then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and the Cabinet rejected the idea of a Voice to parliament.
They did not expect most Australians would support this “radical” constitutional change, but he has since changed his mind.
Click the link below and listen the full episode now:
On today’s Briefing, we find out if the Former Prime Minister takes responsibility for setting The Voice back and why he supports it now.
Malcolm Turnbull’s brand-new podcast Defending Democracy deep dives into the state of the world and our political system.
The Briefing’s host Tom Tilley asked Mr Turnbull, “If the vote on The Voice failed, will your rejection of the idea at that time as prime minister be partly to blame?”
No, not at all. I had two concerns. When I said I did, the cabinet did,”
Mr Turnbull said.
Our concerns were firstly that we are uncomfortable with the idea of having any positions in the Australian constitution for which the qualifications were anything other than Australian citizenships,”
he said.
He rejected The Voice in 2017 because people had meagre knowledge and few details of The Voice Referendum. It would not gain as much support back then.
Now, he’s reconsidered his position and will be encouraging others to vote for The Voice Referendum.
It is gonna be a big change in our constitution, it will change the power dynamic, but I think it is one we can live with, manage, and it is so heartfelt, objective and aspirational for Indigenous Australian First Nations people, it is one that we should support.”
Download the free LiSTNR app for more episodes of The Briefing.