Parkes MP Mark Coulton reaffirms opposition to Voice to Parliament

Speaking at Dubbo on Friday alongside Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and federal leader of The Nationals, David Littleproud, the Parkes MP said he was in favour of recognition in the constitution but had serious concerns around the lack of detail in the Voice.

The Parkes MP added his opposition to the Voice stemmed from the feedback he's received from Aboriginal people in his electorate.

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As a senator for the Northern Territory, Ms Price represents the largest percentage of Indigenous Australians in the parliament. Mr Coulton is second as the member for the vast Parkes electorate.

"My position has come from not an ideological position but from representing these communities for nearly 15-and-a-half years and I'm following the wishes of the Aboriginal people I represent," Mr Coulton said.

"For the last month I've been lectured by people who live in the leafy suburbs of the capital cities about their wisdom on this thing and when you look it up they have got 0.4 of one per cent in their electorate of Aboriginal people.

"They don't know Aboriginal people and they haven't got someone on their phone who they can call who is an Aboriginal person.

"We need to make it clear that we are representing the people from this electorate and we're not on some ideological journey."

Mr Coulton and Mr Littleproud both pointed to the progress seen in the Parkes electorate as proof the gap is being closed.

From more Indigenous students than ever before sitting the HSC at Dubbo College last year, to hundreds of Dubbo students being a part of Clontarf, and six of nine councillors at Brewarrina being Indigenous, Mr Coulton said there were a lot of positives to show.

The politicians were speaking at Wilay Cafe, run by Regional Enterprise Development Institute (REDI-E).

REDI.E and it's chief executive, Gamillaroi man Peter Gibbs, work to create opportunities, positive career pathways and economic development for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

"As Australians, we should be proud that we have organisations that are out here closing the gap, but also are part of the entire community and part of our society," Mr Littleproud added.

"Organisations like this that have closed the gap and for all of us, no matter your race or religion, they have made our communities better and this is what we're saying. This is the practical solution of closing the gap in communities.

"We don't need another layer of bureaucracy, we just need a better bureaucracy, to get out of the way in Canberra, and empower organisations like this here in the regions."

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