'ATSIC revisited': Dubbo's Peter Gibbs and Frank Doolan oppose Indigenous Voice to Parliament

They raised concerns fearing a repeat of the billion-dollar failure that was the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), which was abolished in 2005 after corruption allegations surfaced.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament, if enshrined, will take up an advisory role and will be consulted by the government on proposed legislation that directly affects the lives of Australia's Indigenous people.

You can learn more about who will be part of the Voice here.

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Gamillaroi man and chief executive of the Regional Enterprise Development Institute, Mr Gibbs said the Voice would be "fundamentally divisive" and would achieve "absolutely nothing".

As an example, he mentioned ATSIC, saying it had been a complete waste of billions and did not turn around the poverty it was created to address. Instead, he said, the "disgusting" commission was riddled with corruption which filled its own "pockets and poker machines".

"The only people who benefited were the individuals that were 'so called democratically elected'," Mr Gibbs told Daily Liberal.

Alternatively, he said people needed to have confidence in the record number of 11 Indigenous MPs that had been elected to parliament from major and minor parties.

"These individuals were motivated and supported to join the current system and based on their professional and personal qualities rather than their race, there's no need to change the current system, it's working. If you don't like a particular person or party, then you get the opportunity at the mandatory election box," he said.

"Do we honestly believe that [the] Voice will get one kid to school, get someone into a job, protect one domestic violence victim, one child out of care or another young person out of the judicial system? This really is crazy stuff."

When asked if he agreed with federal member for Parkes Mark Coulton, who last week said he would not support the Voice, or Indigenous Australians minister Linda Burney, who said a Voice was needed, Mr Gibbs agreed with Mr Coulton.

"I speak with him on many matters, he is highly accessible, his office is down the street, he's always out in the community, I've stumbled across him across the electorate in places like Bourke and Wilcannia. Linda Burney, I haven't spoken with in 30 years," he said.

Mr Gibbs further felt the Voice would incorrectly represent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as a homogenous group.

He said, irrespective of race, he needed to be able to use the the same system as his next door neighbour or work colleague would use to express negative or positive opinions. He believed a Voice was not needed to ameliorate Indigenous lives.

"Do the rest of the Australian people have separate body to speak on their behalf? What about people that come in from other countries? How would you feel about a representative body being installed by the Parliament to represent you and your views but literally have no connections to you, your family, your needs?," Mr Gibbs said.

"We have so many options to improve our lives... there's free education, scholarships, jobs, jobs, jobs and a very strong welfare safety net, that includes income support, free healthcare, housing and the list goes on and on. We need to take personal responsibility and we don't need a Voice to tell us that." he said

Frank Doolan, a community worker at LeaderLife and a Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi Elder, said he didn't support the Voice because he thought it was "ATSIC revisited".

Mr Doolan said the money for the Voice could be better spent providing social housing, employment and improving health outcomes.

"It's a lot of money to spend to create a costly, cumbersome but largely consultative body," Mr Doolan said.

When asked if he agreed with Mr Coulton or Ms Burney, Mr Doolan said he was not opposed to either of them.

"Both are just trying to do what they think is best for all of us," he said.

He also said the attacks on Jacinta Price, the Northern Territory senator and stringent 'no' campaigner for the Voice to Parliament, by her own people and especially Aboriginal men, had been "shameful".

Similarly, Mr Gibbs said there were others in the Dubbo community who opposed the Voice but would not speak up as they were afraid to be "shouted down" and "targeted".

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