Jacinta Price tells Penny Wong Australia does not need a First Nations Ambassador

Senator Jacinta Price has called out plans to appoint a foreign ambassador for Australia’s First Nations people, arguing the role will only cause further divisions.

In Senate Estimates on Thursday, Ms Price told Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong that she found the role ‘divisive’ as someone with Indigenous heritage.

She accused the Labor government of concocting the role as part of an international PR stunt amid the debate over the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

Ms Wong vehemently denied the role would segregate First Nations people.

Senator Jacinta Price (pictured in September) has furiously rejected plans to appoint a First Nations foreign ambassador, arguing the role will only cause further divisions

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‘I reject that. It’s not about segregation. It’s about inclusion. And a place in our international story that we have not told,’ she said.

‘I think in the world telling the full story of who we are is a good thing to do, regardless of one’s political views over the Uluru Statement.

‘This is about telling the full breadth of the story about who we are.’

During the fiery exchange, Ms Price questioned why Australia thought it was necessary to separate First Nations people with their own foreign policy.

She accused the government of being ‘ideologically’ driven in their pursuit to secure a specific ambassador for Indigenous people as part of Australia’s foreign policy.

On Wednesday, Ms Price tweeted she would hold the Albanese government to account

Foreign Affairs minister Penny Wong said that like any ambassador, the person who was chosen to represent First Nations people would consult widely to get a ‘diversity of views’

Ms Price cited Ms Wong’s Malaysian heritage when she argued that an ambassador couldn’t possibly represent all Asian voices. 

‘It is your position that the Uluru statement of the heart should represent us all, and I’m suggesting to you that it doesn’t,’ she said. 

The foreign minister replied that like any ambassador, the person who was chosen for the role would consult widely to get a ‘diversity of views’. 

During the fiery exchange, Ms Price questioned why Australia thought it was necessary to separate First Nations with their own foreign policy. 

The Labor government plans to allocated $1.3million to its First Nations Ambassador budget to start a taskforce for the department, remuneration for the ambassador, international and domestic engagement as well as meeting facilitation

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Ms Price on Wednesday tweeted she was: ‘In Senate Estimates pulling 16 hour days and holding this disgraceful Albanese government to account’. 

The conservative politician, among other Indigenous leaders, has been critical of the the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, saying the proposal for an advisory body for First Nations people was another act of ‘racial separatism’.

The Labor government plans to allocated $1.3million to its First Nations Ambassador budget to start a taskforce for the department, remuneration for the ambassador, international and domestic engagement as well as meeting facilitation.