Liberal MP Nick Goiran to table petition calling on Cook Government to rule out legislated Voice

Thousands of West Australians have signed a petition demanding the Cook Government “unequivocally” rule out legislating a Voice to State Parliament after voters resoundingly voted No in the national referendum. Liberal MLC Nick Goiran will table a petition, started by controversial former Liberal candidate Sherry Sufi, that calls on the the Premier to ensure the WA constitution will not be changed to establish an Indigenous advisory body. The petition closes on November 6 and has so far collected over 6500 signatures, which Mr Goiran said was well above the average of 3500. Months before the October 14 referendum, Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said she was “certainly” in favour of a legislated Voice and Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said he “absolutely” supported it. While booths from remote WA Indigenous communities returned a strong Yes vote in the referendum, the State overall returned a resounding No, with almost 64 per cent opposed. Only two out of 15 WA Federal seats -- Curtin and Perth -- voted to enshrine a national Indigenous Voice to Parliament. Changing the nation’s constitution requires a double-majority in a referendum, but the WA constitution can be altered through legislation. Victoria and South Australia already have legislated Indigenous Voices. After the thumping No result, the Premier said legislating a Voice was “not on (the) agenda” for his Government. But Mr Goiran said this was eerily similar to comments made by Mark McGowan prior to the election when asked about reforming the Legislative Council. “In 2017, we had McGowan saying repeatedly to the media that it wasn’t on the agenda for him to change the electoral laws,” Mr Goiran said. “Time and time again, he was pressed on this point. And within months of the 2021 election they ran through a bill to change the electoral law. “So when WA Labor say that something is not on the agenda, what does that really mean? They’ve got form in this regard.” Mr Goiran said he had asked the Premier in parliament to unequivocally rule out legislating a Voice, but Mr Cook had “declined to do so”. “It would not be difficult, if Roger Cook wants to clarify this once and for all. He chooses not to. So in the meantime I’m pressing ahead with this petition,” he said. Mr Goiran said there were already Indigenous voices that were not being listened to by the Government on issues such as youth detention. “What I wouldn’t want people to do is to take away from (the referendum result) that people are not entitled to have a voice or to participate in our modern democracy. That is absolutely not the case,” he said. “In corrective services, people were crying out with regard to what was happening with youth justice. And the approach by Mark McGowan at the time was very arrogant. “Roger Cook has taken a slightly softer approach, but even he was reported as saying that (Unit 18) was some form of necessary evil.” Mr Goiran said these comments -- made in the wake of Indigenous teenager Cleveland Dodd taking his life in the unit -- were “a symptom of a Government that doesn’t listen”. “If you’re wanting to try and address issues with regards to Aboriginal West Australians, you need to listen to the existing voices of the existing advocacy groups and the existing advisory committees.” A State Government spokesman also said a State Voice was “not our agenda” and that the Government would continue to work with the existing Aboriginal Advisory Council. “Nick Goiran and his fellow Clan members should stop trying to divide our State, and instead focus on what matters to Western Australians,” he said. Mr Sufi - who started the petition - quit as Fremantle candidate in 2016 after past controversial comments on race relations emerged. The ex-candidate opposed the apology to the Stolen Generation and implied same-sex marriage could lead to polygamy. Mr Sufi was a Liberal senate candidate in 2022 and was Fair Australia’s No campaign director in WA. He has been associated with the Clan -- a factional Liberal party powerbase of which Mr Goiran is a leading figure.