KEY POINTS:
- Peter Dutton remains unswayed on whether to back the Voice to Parliament proposal after a meeting with key advocates.
- He has committed to more talks, but maintains the government has not provided enough detail on the proposal
- Recommendations on the Voice referendum are set to be provided to the government at the end of February.
A meeting with key advocates for the Voice to Parliament has left Peter Dutton unswayed on whether to back the idea, claiming Labor is continuing to keep Australians in the dark.
The Opposition leader's meeting with the Voice working group ended without a breakthrough on Thursday, despite attempts to convince him would make tangible improvements to the lives of Indigenous Australians.
In a statement after the meeting, Mr Dutton, who is yet to commit the Coalition to a position o, confirmed his position remains unchanged.
Australians will vote on a Voice to Parliament this year. Source: AAP / Aaron Bunch
"Like all Australians, we come to this debate with goodwill and respect. But the Prime Minister’s refusal to answer straightforward questions on how his Voice proposal will work is untenable. Australians deserve to be informed before voting at a referendum," a spokesperson for Mr Dutton said.
"The Liberal Party will continue to be constructive and Mr Dutton has committed to further engagement with the Referendum Working Group."
The meeting included a presentation from Uluru Statement co-chairs Pat Anderson and Megan Davis, as well as the Cape York Institute's Noel Pearson, on the grassroots process leading up the proposal.
'Didn't learn anything'
Fronting the media soon after it concluded, the Opposition's Indigenous Australians spokesman Julian Leeser said he did not learn anything from the meeting he did not already know but he and Mr Dutton would meet with the working group again.
"It was a very comprehensive presentation about the history of the Uluru dialogues which led to the Voice," he said.
"It was information that I was familiar with having been involved in earlier stages of this process.
"I think it's been a good process today to meet with the working group. We accepted the government's invitation to meet with them and we'd now like the government to accept our invitation to deal with the questions (we have) raised."
Uluru Statement co-chair Megan Davis says the Voice should be above 'partisan politics'. Source: AAP
A "week of action" will also take place between 18-24 February to build support for the proposal, Professor Davis said.
"The Australian people will determine the outcome of this referendum, not politicians," she told reporters in Canberra.
"The Uluru Statement From The Heart was an invitation to the Australian people and an invitation to walk with First Nations people in a movement for a better future.
"The constitution is the people's document. Politicians can't change it. Parliament can't change it. Only you, the Australian people, can change it."
'Door is open'
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese remained optimistic about the referendum's success despite the launch of a "no" campaign.
"As we get down to the campaign there are two clear messages of what it's about: recognition and consultation, simple as that," Mr Albanese said.
"My government is very committed to this. We will continue to put everything into this campaign and I know that increasingly this will be an opportunity to bring the nation together."
Mr Albanese said his "door was always open" to discuss the Voice proposal.
The prime minister said the model and shape of the Voice would be decided by parliament after the referendum, which will focus on enshrining the body in the constitution.
The Voice is designed to provide advice to the federal government as it forms policy on issues impacting Indigenous Australians.
The body was first proposed in the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart, the result of a two-year consultation with Indigenous communities - dubbed the regional dialogues - and a summit of delegates at Uluru.
Mr Albanese and other advocates for the Voice have stressed the body would be simply advisory, giving input over policies impacting Indigenous Australians, but without the power to override parliament.
- With AAP.
