Indigenous MPs and Senators have their own jobs to do

“We already have Indigenous politicians!” This is a common talking point from No voters. They say that Indigenous people make up 3.3% of our population, but have 4.8% of our Federal politicians. And that’s true, but it’s not relevant for whether or not we have a Voice.

We have a growing number of Indigenous people as Senators and Members of Parliament. But their job isn’t to represent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people – it’s to represent the people in their electorate, and their party. They’ve already got a job, and it’s different from what the Voice would be.

Wil Stracke has a good (short!) take on this on TikTok. And The Conversation has a good article from earlier this year which explains this really well: With 11 Indigenous politicians in Parliament, why does Australia need the Voice? If this topic interests you I highly recommend it.

Here’s the list of who’s currently in Parliament:

Name	Party	Chamber	Seat or State	Origin
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price	Country Liberal (sits in the Nationals caucus)	Senate	Northern Territory	Warlpiri
Dorinda Cox	Greens	Senate	Western Australia	Yamatji Noongar
Lidia Thorpe	Independent	Senate	Victoria	Djab Wurrung Gunai Gunditjmara
Pat Dodson	Labor	Senate	Western Australia	Yawuru
Linda Burney	Labor	House	Barton (NSW)	Wiradjuri
Malarndirri McCarthy	Labor	Senate	Northern Territory	Yanyuwa
Jana Stewart	Labor	Senate	Victoria	Muthi Muthi Wemba-Wemba
Gordon Reid	Labor	House	Robertson (NSW)	Wiradjuri
Marion Scrymgour	Labor	House	Lingiari (NT)	Tiwi
Kerrynne Liddle	Liberal	Senate	South Australia	Arrernte

Just as an example, I’m a white Greens voter from WA, and I’m really happy with how Senator Dorinda Cox is representing me. She’s done great work on opposing the Scarborough Basin gas hub (previously known as the Burrup Hub) and working on a national domestic abuse strategy.

Just because she’s Indigenous, doesn’t mean she can represent the needs of Aboriginal people living in Cape York, because she’s not from there and doesn’t know exactly what situation they’re in. But if we had a Voice, she could consult with someone representing far-north Queensland mobs while she’s working on say, her national domestic abuse project. She’d be able to ask if it would work for them and get their input on any changes it might need.