State Voice to Parliament

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (15:17): Supplementary: I also asked how can the Voice be truly independent of the government when a large percentage of members are full-time public servants?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:17): I thank the honourable member for repeating that part of the question that I didn't get around to answering. I had forgotten that he had asked that. I don't have a breakdown, but certainly there are public sector employees who are members of the Voice and who work in the not-for-profit sector, the ACCO sector and in the private sector.

I don't have a breakdown of who are state public sector employees or federal public sector employees, but certainly there are some of those. The South Australian public sector and the federal public sector are often an employer of choice for members of the Aboriginal community, and I am very proud that is the case and that there are many Aboriginal South Australians who choose to work in the South Australian public sector.

There are many boards and committees that advise government that have members who are members of the state or federal public sectors. If there is a direct conflict with the advice that they provide, such as on the Voice, there are appropriate measures to deal with any such conflicts. I understand that has been part of the training for Voice members.

So I understand the question the honourable member is asking, but I don't accept and I disagree that having a career or a job in the state public sector or the federal public sector—because they are often employers of choice for Aboriginal people in South Australia—ought to preclude you from standing to represent your community and being part of our Voice in SA.