SYDNEY—Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has declared that modern Indigenous people are not victims or being oppressed.
Mr. Abbott told the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Sydney that the upcoming Labor proposal to change the Australian Constitution was the “most important challenge” facing the country.
The Indigenous Voice to Parliament will change the preamble of the Constitution to include recognition of Indigenous peoples and to also set up an advisory body that will have the power to “make representations” to the executive and legislature.
The move will require a successful referendum vote with most Australian states backing the change.
Mr. Abbott has warned against the proposal saying it will embed racial “victimhood” in the Constitution.
“This generation of Aboriginal Australians are not victims. This generation of non-Aboriginal Australians are not oppressors,” the former prime minister said.
“And the last thing we should be doing right now is entrenching victimhood and institutionalising grievance in our governance arrangements. And that’s why there can only be one response to this referendum proposal and that is an absolutely resounding ‘No,’” he said.
Mr. Abbott also called for Australians to join political movements if they feel strongly about the direction of the country.
“There is no political party that does not at some stage disappoint. As Ronald Reagan used to frequently say, ‘They will always let you down,’” he said.
“If they’re all a disappointment, find the one which is the least disappointing, which is the least bad—join it and do your best to make it better,” Mr. Abbott said.
“Almost certainly, none of them will ever be perfect. But the one you join, whichever one that is, will be the better for your presence.”
CPAC Australia is running over the weekend of Aug. 19-20.
