South Australia for South Australians

ONE NATION SUPPORTS SOUTH AUSTRALIA FOR ALL SOUTH AUSTRALIANS: A POLICY FOR TRUE EQUALITY

One Nation is the only party which stands for all the principles of Australian democracy, and for true equality among all South Australians. We passionately believe in one nation and one people under one flag.

Perhaps the most important principle of democracy is that all citizens are essentially equal: before the law, before the institutions of government and the public, and in our Constitution. We should be equal – and treated equally – regardless of race, gender, country of origin or religious belief.

Reconciliation is a two-way street, not a one-sided process, and at some point, reconciliation must reach a conclusion. All South Australians should be regularly consulted on reconciliation initiatives and ideas proposing the use of taxpayer resources, not just indigenous South Australians.

One Nation opposes any attempt to carve out special rights, laws or privileges based on characteristics such as race. Perversely, such practices in the name of reconciliation achieve the exact opposite and set reconciliation back. This was the primary basis for One Nation’s successful referendum campaign against the racially divisive national voice to Parliament, and it remains the primary basis for One Nation’s opposition to South Australia’s legislated state-based voice to Parliament.

OUR POLICIES

Repealing the state-based voice to Parliament

One of our party’s first priorities will be introducing a bill to repeal the state-based indigenous voice to Parliament.

South Australia recorded the second highest ‘no’ vote (64.17%) in the Commonwealth at the referendum on the national voice to Parliament in October 2023. One Nation does not consider there is any more support in South Australia for the legislated state-based voice.

The state-based voice to Parliament has been plagued with extremely poor turn-outs at voice elections, resourcing and structural issues, and resignations of delegates and staff.

While more than 30,000 people were eligible to vote in voice elections, only 2619 votes were counted at the voluntary election held in March 2024. In some cases, polling booth workers outnumbered voters and in one case, a candidate was successfully elected by receiving just six individual votes. One Nation considers there is no popular or electoral mandate in South Australia for a voice to Parliament among both indigenous and non-indigenous voters.

Delegates in the voice have already complained about time constraints, an unsustainable structure, duplication of roles with other indigenous advocacy organisations and – of course – not enough money despite having an annual budget of approximately $1.5 million. In addition, voice elections with voter turnouts of less than 10% have cost South Australian taxpayers more than $4 million. Delegates receive travel subsidies to attend meetings. Local voice members receive an annual allowance of $3000 each plus $206 per meeting. State voice members receive an annual allowance of $10,500 and the presiding members receive $18,000. One Nation considers this an absolutely unnecessary waste of taxpayers’ money.

More importantly, the voice to Parliament contradicts a critical principle of Australian democracy: that all citizens are equal and must be treated equally irrespective of arbitrary characteristics like descent, race, gender, country of origin or religious belief. The voice gives indigenous South Australians more of a say in the development of state laws than non-indigenous South Australians, and that is fundamentally wrong.

Winding back race-based special privileges

One Nation will review and examine all legislation and policies in South Australia that permit or enable different treatment of South Australians based on their race, with a view to creating a level legal playing field for all citizens of the state.

Assistance based on need, not race

One Nation works diligently to ensure South Australians who qualify for public assistance receive what they are eligible to receive. Eligibility in many cases is different for indigenous and non-indigenous people when in a truly equal democracy, there should be no difference. One Nation will work to ensure race is not a factor in qualifying for assistance or taxpayer support.

Resources will be allocated to communities and individuals because they need it, not because their race ‘entitles’ them to it. An example of this is One Nation’s policy to restore public funding for respondents to native title claims, and to insert a sunset clause in native title legislation.

Preservation of place names

One Nation opposes renaming places in South Australia with indigenous language place names. This creates division in the community and sends the message the state does not belong to all South Australians.

One Nation notes that many locations in South Australia already bear names derived from indigenous languages. We support the preservation of these names as the ones their communities accept and embrace, just as we support the preservation of names not derived from indigenous languages. This position reflects the heritage of all South Australians, not just a few.

Down the track: real constitutional reform

One Nation considers the Australian Constitution should not make any distinction between citizens based on race and should not even have the potential to do so. To this end – keeping in mind that referendums are costly and should not be held lightly – will over the long-term advocate for the removal of the last references to race in the Constitution via a referendum.

These references are Section 25 – effectively a ‘dead letter’ which says where a state has a law that disqualifies all persons of any race from voting in elections (no such law exists in South Australia or any other state) then those persons will not be counted in a census – and Section 51 (xxvi), which gives the Parliament the power to make special laws for the people of any race ( this is often referred to as the so-called ‘race power’).