Labor leader vows to introduce indigenous voice to Parliament

Australian Labor Party leader Bill Shorten. Photo / Mark Mitchell

An indigenous voice will be added to Parliament if Labor wins the next election but Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is holding fire until he hears from Aboriginal Australians.

Handing down the 10th annual Closing the Gap report yesterday, Turnbull said four of its seven targets to improve indigenous health and welfare were not on track.

But he also announced the extension of a successful policy that has allowed indigenous businesses to win more than A$1 billion ($1.08b) in government contracts since 2015.

"The Government must be the enabler of this success," Turnbull told Parliament yesterday.

"Too often we are quick to highlight the despondency which does nothing to help those who aspire to be like people that work hard and succeed all the time, all while being proud First Australians, Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander Australians."

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten pledged to add an indigenous voice to Parliament if there wasn't a bipartisan commitment to hold a referendum. "I say to the Prime Minister and the Government — we will work with you, but we will not wait for you."

The federal Cabinet last year rejected the Referendum Council's proposal for a constitutionally enshrined indigenous voice in Parliament. But Turnbull said he was waiting for an Indigenous Advisory Council to report back in April before making a decision.

"The important thing is that we do things with indigenous Australians, not do things to them," he said.

- AAP