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Penny Wong’s Voice comments have dunked Labor headfirst into the Indigenous culture wars that Peter Dutton and the Coalition have been obsessed by, writes Joe Hildebrand.
View in browser 30th April 2025
 

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Joe Hildebrand
Federal election correspondent

When South African cricketer Herschelle Gibbs tried to celebrate prematurely upon catching Steve Waugh he infamously fumbled the ball.

Waugh’s apocryphal words to him afterwards became the stuff of legend: “You’ve just dropped the World Cup.”

Likewise Anthony Albanese might well say to Penny Wong after her excruciating Voice bungle: “You’ve just dropped majority government.”

FULL LIST: Every polling booth if you want to vote early

The Foreign Minister’s casual and cavalier suggestion to a podcast that the doomed referendum proposal was going to happen anyway is about as stupid and smug as it gets, and an appalling own goal for Labor in the final days of a campaign that has otherwise been incredibly disciplined and effective.

INTERACTIVE: Don't know who to vote for? Election MatchMaker is here to help

image‘They’re No Oil Paintings’ by Warren Brown.

When I saw the first report of it late last night my eyes popped out of my head and I immediately texted the story to a veteran Labor campaign strategist.

“God help us if this takes off,” he said.

Needless to say it did take off and there was not much even God Himself could do about it.

CLICK HERE FOR JOE HILDEBRAND'S FULL ANALYSIS

Election update
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Penny Wong’s Voice comments have dunked Labor headfirst into the Indigenous culture wars that Peter Dutton and the Coalition have been obsessed by, writes Joe Hildebrand.
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VIDEO OF THE DAY

image'The stupidest thing to have happened'

The debate around the Voice to Parliament has been reignited after Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong’s comments on a recent podcast.

Senator Wong likened the Voice to same-sex marriage in that Australians would one day be incredulous there was ever an argument about it.

Watch as Joe Hildebrand and James Morrow discuss her comments.

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