FOUL CALLED ON ALBO AND SHAQ APPEARANCE

Shaquille O’Neill and Anthony Albanese shake hands at a press conference on the weekend.

The Prime Minister’s decision to hold a press conference with an NBA superstar to promote an Indigenous Voice to Parliament has been criticised by Senator Lidia Thorpe.

Anthony Albanese and Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney appeared with former basketball player Shaquille O’Neill on the weekend, following a meeting where they discussed the proposed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament.

Mr Albanese said Mr O’Neill was interested in learning more about the plans for a Voice.

“Shaq is someone who is well known to younger people, and one of the things we have been doing is trying to mobilise support for the Voice to Parliament by talking with sporting figures,” Mr Albanese said.

Aboriginal Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe told 3AW that Mr O’Neill’s appearance was an “insult”.

“We need to tell the truth of this country, and if Shaq wants to talk about what is good for us then he needs to have a look at the incarceration rates and the child removal rates and call for the implementation of the recommendations that are thirty and twenty years old,” said Ms Thorpe.

“That should be the priority here.”