Liberal leader Mark Speakman is applauded by Indigenous Minister Linda Burney after revealing he will support the Voice to Parliament

NSW Liberal leader Mark Speakman says he will support an indigenous voice in parliament, after months of personal and community deliberation.

Speakman said the potential rewards outweigh the potential risks, adding that he will not take an active role in the referendum or advise others on how to vote.

“I personally support a voice in the Australian constitution,” he said in a statement on Saturday.

“There are no guarantees, but all things being equal, working in closer partnership with Indigenous Australians, and elevating it by incorporating it into the constitution, offers a better chance of closing the gap.”

The Liberal leader made it clear previously that he would allow opposition MPs to vote however they want on the issue.

Speakman said the potential rewards outweigh the potential risks, adding that he will not take an active role in the referendum or advise others on how to vote.

He says he was concerned that the voice of parliament could impede timely decision-making, but believes they have since dissipated.

Now that polls show the referendum is likely to succeed by a narrow margin, if at all, Speakman called for changes to the proposal being presented to the Australian people.

He urged the government to separate the proposals for constitutional recognition and voice on two different issues.

Australian Indigenous Minister Linda Burney congratulated Mr Speakman on his standing as “a decent man”.

“It is an extremely proud day in New South Wales where we have bipartisan support for a voice in parliament for both the Liberal and Labor parties,” he told supporters of the “yes” campaign in Geelong.

However, he said the Albanian government’s intention was to go ahead with the referendum in the way that Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders had asked them to, to ask “a very simple and clear question”.

WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam this week withdrew her support for the ‘yes’ campaign, saying the state government’s removal of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act had changed her mind.

“We have seen a law repealed only weeks after it was implemented as a result of a provide details later approach,” he told ABCTV.

Australian Indigenous Minister Linda Burney congratulated Mr Speakman on his standing as “a decent man”.

While recognizing cultural heritage laws and voice are separate issues, Ms Mettam said the plan to vote first and release details later is the same.

“I continue to support indigenous recognition in the constitution,” he said.

“What I was hoping for, and what many Australians and Western Australians are hoping for, is more detail on how the voice that has been proposed will lead to some real practical results.”

On Saturday, Mr. Speakman called for the publication of a bill on voice, including a detailed description of its proposed composition, functions, structure, powers and procedure.

The New South Wales Liberal leader was not the only one to hold off on making his position public, and his counterparts in Victoria and Queensland have yet to do so.

Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto has given coalition MPs the freedom to vote as they choose but has yet to reveal his personal position, as has Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli.

The leader of Australia’s only Liberal government, Tasmanian Prime Minister Jeremy Rockliff, considered a moderate, plans to vote “yes” in the referendum.

“Recent polls suggest that the referendum is unlikely to succeed and even if it does, it will only succeed by a narrow majority,” Speakman said.

“None of the results help our nation’s ongoing journey of reconciliation.

“Whatever the outcome of the referendum, there remains the urgent matter of reconciliation and bridging the gap, to which we must all renew our commitment.”