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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hit back at opposition leader Peter Dutton over the Indigenous Voice referendum in Parliament, accusing him of playing political games.
Albanese said there were more than enough details about the indigenous voice in parliament for the public to make up their minds on the proposal, despite opposition claims that key councils were being withheld.
“Peter Dutton needs to be realistic about this,” he said in Melbourne on Friday.
“This is not about him and this is not about me.
“It is about whether we are a better country in the future. It’s about whether we can recognize Indigenous Australians on our nation’s birth certificate.”
Albanese challenged Dutton to take a position on Voice, warning that asking for details was a well-worn tactic.
“We know from the Republic playbook that it happened last century that it’s nothing more than a tactic, and it’s inauthentic to continue to say, ‘We don’t have the details,'” he said.
“No matter how the details are laid out, Peter Dutton will say, ‘What about more details?’ That is the game that is being played here, and he should make a decision about where he stands on the issue.”
Albanese said he had met Dutton seven times to discuss Voice, and that the opposition leader had not expressed his concerns in those meetings.
Dutton wants the government to publish legal advice from the attorney general on the implications of Voice.
“It’s not just millions of non-Indigenous Australians who want the details, but many, many Australians of Indigenous descent also want the details and I don’t think that’s too much to ask,” he said on Thursday.
“If you are proposing a very significant change to our founding document, how will it deliver practical results for Indigenous Australians?
“If he can’t provide that detail, then he needs to explain why.”
A key concern has been that the decisions could be delayed or taken to court because Voice’s representations must be considered by government decision makers before they can make a valid decision.
But Albanese was confident that the drafting of the constitutional changes was infallible.
“This has not arisen in a vacuum. There has been all this work done by the referendum task force advisory group. It is very clear that this is a direct proposal, ”he said.
“We will give the Australian people the opportunity to expand our country later this year. We can get bigger or we can shrink, shrink to play old politics. And that’s what people in positions of political leadership should consider.”
A new section would be placed in the constitution, recognizing Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders as the “First Peoples of Australia.”
The laws establishing the referendum will be submitted to parliament next week, with voting taking place between October and December.
Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley said the announcement of the referendum question was an “emotional day” but more details were needed on the proposal.
“The prime minister said it would be a modest change, but then he said it would change the country, so we will continue to ask about that detail and ask him questions on behalf of all Australians,” he told Seven. Sunrise program.
“We’ll do it respectfully because it’s an incredibly important issue: You don’t get a blank check to change the constitution.”
Attorney General Mark Dreyfus has warned of the significant consequences for the future of reconciliation if the referendum fails.
“It would be a long time before we got back to any question of recognition. I think it would be a tremendous setback for relations with our Original Peoples,” he told ABC Radio on Friday.
National MP Keith Pitt, who says he will vote no in the referendum, said all members of parliament and senators were there to make representations on behalf of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, noting that 11 MPs were Indigenous Australians .
Pitt said changing the constitution so that Australians “are not treated equally” is not something he can support.
The Nationals have already decided as a party that they will oppose the voice.
– with AAP
