South Australia’s Voice to Parliament plagued by raft of resignations amid accusations members are ‘gagged’ from speaking out

South Australia’s Voice to Parliament has seen a surge in resignations, including that of its leader, amid claims its members are being ‘gagged’ from speaking out. 

Narungga, Kaurna and Ngarrindjeri woman Tahlia Wanganeen was elected to the Central Adelaide Voice in March and appointed chair of the State Voice in June.

However, she quit both advisory bodies just months later in September.

Ms Wanganeen claimed the organisation’s current model was ‘unsustainable’ as members have ‘day-to-day jobs’, she told ABC News.

She was one of four elected members who have already resigned from the Voice – the others being Central Voice member Cheryl Axelby, South East Voice member Darryle Barnes, and Yorke and Mid North Voice member Joy Makepeace.

Director of the Voice secretariat, Andrea Mason, also resigned to move to the Northern Territory, reportedly for family reasons. 

Ms Wanganeen’s comments followed a confrontation between SA Aboriginal Affairs Minister Kyam Maher and independent MP Frank Pangallo in Parliament on Thursday.

The pair were at odds after elected Voice member and SA’s Senior Australian of the Year, Uncle Charles Jackson, revealed he was considering leaving the body. 

The Adnyamathanha elder claimed being part of the Voice had ‘barriers being put before me’ that do not ‘give me any freedom to be able to say what I want to say to represent my people in region three’.

‘I’m thinking whether I would continue being a member of the Voice,’ he said. 

‘I just thought… what’s the purpose of being a voice for my people?’

Mr Pangallo accused the Voice of gagging Uncle Charles and said he was ‘deeply concerned’ by the resignation of four other Voice members.

‘Why are members of the state Voice being gagged from speaking to the media about matters that impact their people?’ Mr Pangallo asked Mr Maher. 

Mr Maher claimed he was not aware of any attempts to silence Voice members. 

‘Having known Uncle Charlie for many, many years I don’t think any attempts of that sort would be at all successful,’ he said.

‘I think Uncle Charlie has been … and will continue to be a staunch advocate for his people.’

In response to the wider Voice concerns, Mr Maher said: ‘I know there were a variety of reasons for the people that have resigned that have included, I think, from moving interstate to taking on new employment that doesn’t allow flexibility to do that, and for other personal reasons.

‘That’s not necessarily my place, to go into people’s personal details.’

A recruitment process to find replacements for the the members is underway.

Two vacancies are set to be filled by a supplementary election next year while the other two will be taken by those next in line to fill the seats at the March election.

However, Mr Pangallo believes the only way to prevent future resignations is to address the concerns of the four former Voice members.

‘For the sake of transparency and accountability, the Minister has a responsibility to release the details why each Member has resigned,’ he said.

‘My concern is these people all nominated only a few months ago to be members of the historic Voice, but have suddenly had a change of heart – for whatever reasons – and pulled the plug.

‘It’s not a good look and raises a number of questions. Although only in its infancy, serious cracks are appearing in the State Voice. It seems we have no Voice to be heard as yet.’

Uncle Charles has also raised concerns about potentially biased members of the Voice who hold jobs in government agencies.

‘How can they… speak against any government policy when the government actually pays their wages?’ he said.

Mr Maher addressed the complaint in parliament by referencing training Voice members undergoing on dealing with conflicts of interest. 

‘I disagree that having a career or a job in the state or federal public sector… ought to preclude you from standing to represent your community and being part of our Voice in South Australia,’ he said.

The SA Voice was previously expected to give its first address to parliament this year.