Joy Makepeace Re-elected, Voice to Parliament Faces Criticism

0:00It's April 2nd. This is Adelaide News today, powered by AI. South Australia's voice to Parliament just wrapped up elections on March 21st, with 46 new members provisionally declared this week. Joy Makepeace, a Kamaleroi Murawari woman from the stolen generations, got reelected unopposed for the York and Mid-North region. She's one of six women who ran without competition, as candidates dropped nearly in half. The voice started in 2023 as an advisory group for indigenous input on laws, straight out of the Lurus statement push. This round saw 64 candidates, down from 113 last year. But votes climbed to 3,504 from 2,748. One nation's leading the charge to scrap it, with leader Cory Bernardi calling it a costly folly alongside low turnout. Makepeace fires back that her fortnightly stipend is just $97, totaling $3,000 a year base rate, hardly politician pay. She says they're in it to lend the cultural lens to bills, not chase cash.

1:03Low participation stems from misunderstandings in Aboriginal and wider communities, plus enrollment hurdles, especially for stolen generations folks, who are often displaced. Over 32,000 first nation's voters are enrolled, but many miss out without being on the role. Deputy Premier Kayyan Maher congratulated the electric crew, while one nation doubles down on cutting costs. Makepeace wants more nominees, especially women and men, to give communities real choices moving forward.