The education minister, Simon Birmingham last night appeared to open the door on further discussions with the Indigenous community on recognition in the Australian constitution, as he faced a barrage of criticism from his fellow panellists of high school students over the government’s rejection of the Uluru statement.
Appearing on Q&A, Birmingham said that the idea of an elected advisory body which would consult with the parliament on policies that affected Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders had come from “left of field” and that discussions of recognition had focused on just that: recognition.
But he also appeared to take a less definitive stance than that of Malcolm Turnbull, who rejected the Uluru statement’s central idea of an advisory body. Turnbull said he was not prepared to put it to the Australian people because it would never pass in a referendum but offered no basis for this conclusion.
Labor’s deputy leader, Tanya Plibersek, said her party would be “open to these discussions” and that she was “ disappointed it had been rejected”.
If politicians want to know what young people think, they would be well advised to watch the repeat of Q&A. The frank group of high school students, both on the panel and in the audience, often highlighted the political spin with their much more candid opinions.
Congrats to four very impressive, passionate & thoughtful young Australians - it was an honour to share the #qanda stage with you tonight! pic.twitter.com/K2kfpg9Q0Q
— Simon Birmingham (@Birmo) November 6, 2017
One student, Nadia Homem from Burwood girls high, received loud applause from the audience made up of high school students when she castigated the government over the same-sex marriage postal survey.
“The $122m should have gone into mental health programs for young people, instead of a divisive and intolerable plebiscite,” she said.
Another student, Lauren McGrath-Wild, from Presbyterian Ladies’ College, argued that it was a first step to a brighter future for the LGBTI communities because it would affirm that a majority of Australians supported equality.
But she was roundly criticised by another panellist, Geordie Brown from Oxley high in Tamworth, who said politicians should have done what they were elected to do and voted for a change in the law instead of “giving a platform for hatred”. He too received loud applause.
Don’t young LGBT+ Australians have a right to identity and sexual health education? Lim, Homem, McGrath-Wild & Brown respond #QandA pic.twitter.com/kOwW0Z59o9
— ABC Q&A (@QandA) November 6, 2017
The panellists, drawn from private and public schools, were united in their desire to see more funds spent on public education, particularly rural schools. The private schoolgirl, McGrath-Wild, said there was a need to ensure that regional schools were improved so students were not forced to choose to go to the city for education.
There was also near-universal support for greater funding for Tafe and a greater emphasis on trades education.
One student, Arthur Lim from Moorebank high, said: “It’s important that we reconsider the rise of private colleges with fancy names and ask are they delivering good education or are they simply there for the purposes of money making?”
The student panellists were united in their support for more government action to ensure corporates and wealthy taxpayers paid their fair share of tax in the wake of the revelations in the Paradise Papers on the use of tax havens.
They called on governments to do more to close up loopholes and ensure a fair and just system.
As one tweeter put it: “Earned here, taxed here. Even school kids get it.”
The one issue that divided the students was whether there should be changes to section 44 of the constitution, which has so far claimed six politicians who failed to adequately renounce other citizenship which they either inherited or had conferred at birth.
Homem, who has dual Portuguese-Australian citizenship, said it would be a difficult choice to give up her right to live and work overseas if she wanted to run for public office. “We need to look at amending it to reflect our values and a multicultural society,” she said.
.@tanya_plibersek says close every loophole globally. @Birmo we expect tax to be paid here. Nadia Homem agrees #QandA pic.twitter.com/pzfAX4MZ7m
— ABC Q&A (@QandA) November 6, 2017
Lim, born in Indonesia, said it was essential that people setting Australian policy had an absolutely clear allegiance to Australia.
Both professional politicians did what politicians do best and ducked the issue.
“I would rather we didn’t go down the path [of a referendum],” said Birmingham, adding that he thought the issue could be managed sensibly without a change.
Plibersek agreed that a referendum would be “a big ask”.
But she did hold out an olive branch of possible cooperation for Turnbull’s plan for a process by which politicians would put information on their place of birth, and parent’s place of birth, plus any acts to renounce other citizenship on the record.
“We would like to help the prime minister sort this out,” she said. “We are just not sure what the PM is proposing.”
