Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will meet with supporters of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament today as a referendum on the proposed body draws closer.
In a meeting with the referendum working group he’ll receive a presentation by Uluru Statement from the Heart co-chairs Pat Anderson and Professor Megan Davis, academic and activist Noel Pearson, and working group members who have been advising the government.
”We welcome Mr Dutton’s attendance at our meeting today,” Davis said.
“I am hopeful it will help clarify for him how significant a constitutionally enshrined Voice is for our people and for the nation.
“He wasn’t as fortunate as others in the room to have been involved in the grassroots Dialogues where First Nations Peoples passionately shared their frustration at not having a say in the laws and policies that are too often imposed upon them.”
In a video presentation, a wide range of Indigenous people will explain why they support the Voice, and what they hope it will do for them.
Wardaman woman Dr Josie Douglas says the proposed shift means an end to remote Indigenous people being forgotten about due to a lack of representation.
“Government makes policies for remote Aboriginal people, with no consultation, with no regard to how people are feeling and what control they want to have over their everyday lives,” she says in the video.
“Policies that are made for them and about them.
Read Related Also: This coastal carpet python is not guarding bread rolls
“Remote Aboriginal people, those who are living in Central Australia in remote and very remote communities have no power. They have no voice.”
Davis called on Dutton and the federal Liberal Party to support the proposed Voice before the issue is put to the Australian people in a referendum.
”We gifted the Uluru Statement from the Heart to the Australian people, not politicians, because it is too important to get caught up in partisan politics,” she said.
“Our hope is that Mr Dutton and his party room support First Nations Peoples and help bring the whole country together to make this important constitutional change.”
Dutton has not said whether the Liberals will join the federal Labor government in campaigning for the Voice to be enshrined in the Constitution, instead calling for more detail to be released.
Nationals Leader David Littleproud announced in November that the junior coalition partner will not support a yes vote, claiming the Voice would not “genuinely close the gap”.
The federal government has actively supported the Voice proposal, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese backing the change to the constitution.
He said a referendum on the issue will be held by the end of the year.
