‘Australians are entitled to know’: John Howard slams lack of Voice to Parliament detail as ‘patronising and insulting’

John Howard has slammed the Albanese government’s failure to explain key details of the Voice to Parliament as “patronising” and “insulting to the Australian people”.

The Voice will add “a new chapter to the constitution” and Australians are “entitled to know” key details like “what powers” those elected to the advisory body will have, the former prime minister told Sky News Australia.

“We’ve been told ‘if you vote for it, we’ll tell you then’. Well to say ‘we’ll let you know later, don’t worry’ is nothing short of insulting and patronising to the Australian people,” Mr Howard said on Paul Murray Live on Thursday night.

“We haven’t been told precisely how many people are going to be elected, or how they will be elected. We haven’t been told precisely what procedures they will adopt. What powers they will have.

Former prime minister John Howard slammed the Albanese Government’s failure to explain key Voice details as “patronising” and “insulting to the Australian people.” Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw.

“We’ll have a separate electoral role presumably only of indigenous Australians to vote for this body. We haven’t been given that detail.

“We are adding a new chapter to the constitution. We’re creating a new body. And it will be entrenched in the constitution and Australians are entitled to know.”

The former Australian leader claims the Voice will “divide our nation according to race” which is why many Indigenous Australians are voting against it.

“I want a nation where we are one people, one destiny, one set of laws, one set of responsibility one set of rights and entitlements. I do not want an Australia which is divided according to race,” Mr Howard said.

“Whenever you have a separate chamber available only to people of a certain race to be selected only by people of a particular race, you are dividing our nation. That is why a lot of Indigenous people as well as other Australians object to the Voice.”

Mr Howard also blasted the Prime Minister’s stunning admission to 3AW host Neil Mitchell during an hour-long interview in August that he has not read beyond the cover page of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

“When he was asked whether he read the full document about the Uluru Statement from the Heart, Anthony Albanese said ‘why would I do that?’ Well heavens above, I’ve got news for you Mr Albanese,” Mr Howard said.

“The job of Prime Minister involves reading a lot of stuff and it’s always your job and your responsibility to read material relevant to a decision to you’re taking.

“I just ask people who might have made up their mind to vote no or are in doubt to bear in mind that they’re being asked to vote for something that hasn’t been explained. They are being asked to create a separate class of citizenship.”

Australians are four weeks out from voting on whether to enshrine an independent advisory body into the constitution on October 14.

The body, comprised of Indigenous Australians, would advise the government on matters and policies affecting them.

The latest polling showed national support dropped again in its fifth consecutive month from 46 per cent to 43 per cent, according to SMH’s survey results published on Monday. Meanwhile the No vote has grown from 54 per cent to 57 per cent.

However, despite the drop, Mr Howard told Murray “a month is an eternity” during a referendum campaign and “anything can happen”.

“Harold Wilson famously said a week is a long time in politics. In a referendum campaign a month is an eternity and anything can happen,” he said.

SOURCE: SKYNEWS