Regardless of the outcome of the Voice referendum, history will look kindly on those who have engaged with the proposal in good faith and condemn those who chose to politicise the debate.
As we move into the final six weeks of consultation on the wording that will be put before voters by a specially convened Joint Select Committee, the window for engagement is rapidly closing. That made Julian Leeser’s resignation from shadow cabinet last Tuesday particularly urgent.
Julian Leeser’s resignation from the frontbench may be the salvation of the Voice referendum, of Peter Dutton, and of the Liberal Party.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
The former shadow attorney-general and spokesman for Indigenous affairs has been involved in the project of obtaining constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians from the start of this process. Even before that, he has been a consistent, steadfast and unostentatious advocate for Indigenous people. His credibility in this area makes his stand more powerful. Leeser has declared that he believes the wording put to referendum must be amended, both to ensure the Voice – once enshrined in the Constitution – does not create unintended consequences and, in doing so, to make it acceptable to voters. He wants a Yes vote. By taking a demotion and a pay cut to campaign for it, he has demonstrated how important it is to him.
The press gallery and various commentators have almost unanimously decreed that Leeser’s resignation, which came after Peter Dutton had committed shadow cabinet to campaigning for a No vote to the constitutionally enshrined Voice, is a political disaster for the opposition leader. This is hysterical partisan thinking. Leeser’s move is nothing of the sort. In fact, it may be the salvation of the Voice referendum, of Peter Dutton, and of the Liberal Party.
The Voice is, as official Yes campaign bodies are at pains to emphasise, not a political contest. It is an attempt to forge a future for the nation which transcends the political scuffle. The appeal is not to politicians but to the Australian people to use their empathy and their judgment. Only they, each individually with a single vote, can clear the double majority needed to pass a referendum.
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Yet that is not how the issue is currently framed. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has been under fire for not providing a clearer picture of how the Voice would work, has settled on creating simplicity by embracing a partisan approach. Since the beginning of the year, it has become clear that Albanese is setting up for a referendum on Peter Dutton’s popularity as an easier ask than the Voice referendum question, which some may find daunting.
On the face of it, this is a pretty good strategy. Polling shows Dutton’s popularity is around half of Albanese’s. The sonorous Noel Pearson has labelled Dutton “the Undertaker”, to the delight of the nation’s cartoonists.
Coalition loyalists will tell you that leaders, including John Howard, have weathered similar unpopularity only to succeed in the end, but it’s undeniable that Dutton isn’t the leader you’d pick out of a wider field to suit the times. If there was an obvious alternative within the Liberal Party, a spill would undoubtedly be imminent. But there isn’t a leader who could or would step in right now to solve the opposition’s optical issues, so Dutton will remain for the time being.
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