#GrattanFriday #Jacinta #PriceCoalition
In politics, one person's failure often becomes another person's opportunity. This is story of the Coalition's Julian Leeser and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price on Voice referendum. Leeser, the former shadow Indigenous Australian minister, is a very active yes campaigner. As of this weekend, he has held nearly 90 webinars, public meetings and speeches defending the Voice. Price, who replaced Leeser, who left front row after liberals decided to oppose Voice, became star of "no" campaign. Leeser, who describes himself as a conservative, also used campaign to deliver some strong messages about future of Liberal Party and warn against dangers of fringe politics. Price, an Indigenous woman from Northern Territory who represents Country Liberal Party in Senate, sought to anchor Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people firmly within mainstream, rather than placing them in a particular place because of their Indigenousness. Why Peter Dutton made Leeser the spokesman for the Indigenous portfolio, when he has long history of working on a Voice bid with other conservatives and across political views, is mystery. His appointment at the time seemed to imply that Dutton would be open to supporting the Voice in some way. Many believed that this was never his intention. So why install Leeser and suffer later? Others suggest that once views of the Liberals' base emerged and National Party took their stand, Dutton inevitably followed. After Leeser left the front bench sources close to Dutton said he could not appoint Price, a Nationals sitter, to replace a Liberal. But it has become impossible to get past the outspoken woman in Alice Springs. Grattan on Friday Langton and Price fight passionately and take off their gloves for their beliefs On the back bench, Leeser simply quickly grabbed the megaphone and hasn't put it down since. In her last major speech at Sydney Institute this week, she countered the "no" argument that "Aboriginal people are privileged and this referendum is about special treatment and creation of two separate classes of Australians". Leeser said the claim showed a "total lack of empathy." She felt “the first waves of American-style politics being imported into our country.” This was important “because political culture on left right transformed United States, great bastion of liberty and freedom in world history, into a nation engaged in a cold civil war, dividing communities even families. . "We're seeing the fluctuations. We've already seen this on the left, with indifference and even a desire to antagonize people of faith, even going so far as to nationalize a Catholic hospital [in Canberra] for no other reason than that." "We're seeing a similar way of labeling and dismissing people on the right. Just declare them 'woke' because if someone is woke you don't have to deal with your arguments." “These American-style fluctuations are damaging the common project of Australia. “On this issue, both
