Voices Unheard: First Nations’ Legal Battle Contrasts Labor’s Aboriginal Referendum Promises

It’s an irony that unfolds along the serpentine paths of the Murray-Darling Basin and within the marbled halls of Canberra, where the echoes of promises to heed the voices of First Nations have grown paradoxically both loud and seemingly, silent…

Because as the Labor government unfurls the banners of the Voice referendum—a clarion call to enshrine Indigenous voices in the constitution—a legal storm brews over the Fractured Rock Water Resource Plan, a tempest that questions whether those voices, while invited to resound in the annals of power, are truly being listened to.

“NSW has acknowledged the incomplete consultation [on] the proposed WRP and has committed to work with the affected First Nations over the next 12 months, and with their agreement, incorporate their objectives and outcomes into the WRP at a later date.”

And the tale is as complex as it is simple, for it weaves the fundamental threads of communication, respect, and the intrinsic connection of the First Nations peoples to their land and water.

It’s a tale that began in 2022 when Federal Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek approved the New South Wales Fractured Rock Water Resource Plan.

Because this plan, pivotal for the management of vital water resources not captured in the broader scope of the basin, was meant to be a blueprint for the future, a guide on how to navigate the challenging terrain of water management in a land both parched and sacred.

And yet, the Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations (MLDRIN) has raised the alarm, signaling that the consultation promised to them—an inherent right, as Tati Tati man Brendan Kennedy puts it—was a mirage… They allege that the conversations that should have spiraled around waterholes and riverbeds, carrying the wisdom of millennia, were truncated, incomplete, or non-existent.

So it’s a situation that, as they claim, leaves the very heart of the plan—the cultural, social, and spiritual threads that water weaves into their lives—frayed and ignored.

“From our perspective, we do not believe that the actual plan actually meets the criteria of the basin plan itself,”

MLDRIN chair Grant Rigney via ABC interview

This is not just about water though… it’s about a promise, one that the Labor government championed through their Voice referendum.

Because the referendum is a profound gesture that signalled an intention to listen, to bring the voices of the First Nations into the heart of Australian democracy….

But what does it mean to have a Voice if it is not heeded? This is where the irony cuts deep.

Because as the Labor Government sought to enshrine the principle of listening to First Nations people in the nation’s most foundational document, MLDRIN’s legal challenge serves as a stark reminder that the practice of bureaucrats listening is not yet aligned with the principle.

And the NSW Fractured Rock Water Resource Plan is a case in point, serving as a litmus test for the government’s commitment to not just hearing but also acting on, the concerns of Indigenous communities.

Moreover, the waters of the Murray-Darling are not just channels of H2O; they are lifelines, entwined with stories, laws, and lives. And they are the capillaries through which the pulse of the land is felt, and for the First Nations, they are the veins through which their culture flows.

So when MLDRIN argues for consultation, they are not just asking for a seat at the table; they are asking for their wisdom to be part of the meal that is shared and for their insights to be ingredients in the decisions that are made.

For what use is a Voice, if not to converse, to consult, to understand—and ultimately, to act?

Because the legal challenge from MLDRIN is a call to action, a reminder that the path towards true reconciliation and effective management of the land’s resources is paved with the stones of genuine dialogue and mutual respect.

After all, to listen is human; but to understand, to empathise, and to incorporate—that is the essence of wisdom… so will Labor actually listen?