Angus Taylor says the missing piece in closing the gap is leadership at a local level – and Jacinta Price as Minister for Indigenous Affairs.
Given that he has been a prominent No supporter, the South West Voice asked the member for Hume what was his party’s alternative to the Voice we are being asked to vote one way or the other at tomorrow’s referendum.
“You start by solving problems at the local level; that’s where you’ve always got to start because people’s lives are local, they’re not national, and you’ve got to solve those local problems,’’ Mr Taylor said.
“We know that in some regional and remote communities there’s still real disadvantage.
“I think it’s not about more money, it’s about better spending, and using it to make sure we’ve got strong local leadership in place that can make those tough decisions at the local level.
“We know there’s very clear issues that need to be addressed there, but it’s local leadership that’s the key.
“And encouraging that local leadership, which is why we’ve always said that’s where the policies should focus.’’
As far as Mr Taylor is concerned there’s only one person in Australia who can make a real impact in this space.
That person is Jacinta Price, the Indigenous face of the No campaign, who even spoke at a public meeting in Camden (pictured above), part of Mr Taylor’s large electorate of Hume.
“We’ve seen this around the world with indigenous challenges, where local leadership is just so crucially important,’’ Mr Taylor says.
“And there’s nothing government can do to fix the problem if you don’t have that leadership at that local level in place.
“That’s why I think Jacinta has the potential to really move the dial on that.
“She has shown everybody in the last little while that she’s more than capable of the really important leadership role a minister can play in recognising what needs to be achieved.
“And realising that hard decisions have to be made along the way.
“I think the best thing we can do is get Jacinta in as Minister for Indigenous Affairs,’’ he says.
But, we ask Mr Taylor, isn’t this more less what this referendum is all about, Canberra getting advice provided by regional and remote communities as part of the proposed Voice structure?
“What we do know about this referendum is that we’re voting for a Canberra based Voice in the constitution, and I don’t see that solving those local problems,’’ he responds.
What about the bureaucracy, the people who deliver programs to Indigenous communities, do they need to lift their game?
“There’s some things the bureaucracy can do to help, fill that gap in local leadership,’’ Mr Taylor says.
“You’ve got to create the pathways for those local leaders, perhaps the bureaucracy can play a role in that, but ultimately, we need a really strong minister who has a mandate to do that.
“Jacinta has shown an insight, a compassion and understanding that we have seen from very few leaders, because she’s lived it, at that local level.
“And she’s seen both successes and failures and I think that’s why she’s been so compelling.’’
Good on Angus Taylor for his interesting and realistic comments and big congratulations to Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and supporters for winning the No vote with a huge margin at the referendum which cost millions of dollars that could have been spent much more wisely. Throwing money at the problem over the years, instead of managing it properly, has been one of the main reasons that the country has reached the unsatisfactory situation it is in now. Let us hope this is a new beginning for the better.