On Monday, the Nationals under David Littleproud and Country Liberal Party Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price took a political step that their senior Coalition partner (the Liberals) keep wibble-wobbling on.

(Thanks, Mathias Cormann, for giving us that memorable phrase ‘wibble-wobble’. I’ve loved it ever since.)

Littleproud and Price opposed Labor’s proposed constitutionally embedded Indigenous Voice to Parliament while the Liberals murmured softly about free or conscience votes.

Explaining his stand, Littleproud said that the Nationals believe in empowering local Indigenous communities, giving them a voice at the local level instead of creating another layer of bureaucracy in Canberra. He was joined in this sentiment by Senator Price – who, if the Coalition had any political sensibilities, should have been spokesperson on Indigenous affairs given her political nous and Indigenous heritage.

Liberal national hero John Howard made his opposition to Voice clear earlier this month, along with his distaste for the ‘conscience’ or ‘free’ vote that the Liberals are now contemplating.

Opposition Indigenous spokesperson Julian Leeser ‘declined to comment’.

Even pro-Voice advocates, when interviewed, do not seem to fully understand what Albanese’s proposal is about. Can it be changed by Act of Parliament? Does it require Ministerial approval for changes? What happens if things go wrong, while we’re in turbulent political times?

You see, we’ve been here before. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Commission (ATSIC) was also a ‘voice’ to Parliament until it was scrapped in 2005 for being too expensive, nepotistic, and basically unfit for purpose. ATSIC’s mission statement was ‘to ensure maximum participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in government policy formulation, and implementation to promote Indigenous self-management and self-sufficiency’.

That meant ATSIC could have fingers in every government department and agency if it was considered necessary ‘to promote Indigenous self-management and self-sufficiency’.

So, how long will the wibble-wobbles go on for? Parliament has only a few Sitting Days left before the long summer recess. These questions won’t go away when parliamentarians go home.

How and why have the Liberals got it so wrong on so many things?

It’s not just me asking, it’s those hundreds of formerly-faithful Liberals who gave their time and energy to letterboxing, fundraising, working behind scenes up to and on election day, volunteering to scrutinise, and standing at the polling places for hours or handing out how-to-vote cards.

They all feel let down as Liberals went into Labor-lite freefall, forcing them to reluctantly turn their support toward the Teals, Independents, or minor parties.

Maybe we should stop thinking of Nationals as junior partners in the Coalition – they did better than Liberals in Victoria with their foresightedness and audacity. This puts them in front.

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