An online petition is urging Liberal Leader Sussan Ley to reconsider her decision to appoint Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price as the Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians.

The petition’s creators believe Senator Price has continuously misrepresented the views, experiences, and needs of First Nations people.

This comes as a result following a confrontation between Senator Price and an Indigenous advocate.

Statement from Senator Nampijinpa Price:

The creator of this petition who is stirring up division and hatred is the same person who just last week, harassed me and used threatening and intimidating behaviour towards me. Not only has her approach been immature, but it is completely unacceptable in our democratic society and should be condoned by the Prime Minister as the foreseeable consequence of his divisive referendum.

This same individual has alleged that I am supposed to ask permission to travel to certain parts of Australia simply because I am Indigenous and I differ from her politically. She has not suggested that a non-Indigenous person would be held to the same demands, and has seemingly reserved this requirement for me. These racist attitudes expressed towards me are abhorrent.

As someone who stood for a position in the Socialist Alliance party in Western Australia, it is unsurprising that this individual does not agree with my views or those of the Coalition. While this individual is seeking to maintain the oppression of Indigenous people through socialist means, I advocate for the empowerment and economic independence of Indigenous Australians.

If she is, as she claims, concerned with truth-telling, then she will understand the truth of the Coalition’s position. That position is one which is absolutely committed to the plight of our most marginalised, to keeping vulnerable women and children safe and to ensuring that meaningful progress is actually made to close the gap between our marginalised who are languishing in remote communities, and the rest of the country.

If this individual is truly seeking the welfare and the good of marginalised Indigenous Australians, then her criticisms of me are totally unfounded. If however, she is not genuinely interested in that cause, and is instead purely acting in the pursuit of disruption, division, anger and hatred, then her behaviour is entirely explainable.

Image: Image supplied

Produced By: Micah Kickett

Featured In Story: Marianne Headland Mackay – Noongar woman and Indigenous advocate

First aired on The Wire, Friday 16 May 2025