Mark Dreyfus rejects human rights commissioner’s claim Indigenous voice would undermine principles of equality

A spokesperson for attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, said that neither he nor the government agree with human rights commissioner, Lorraine Finlay’s, view. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Federal attorney general Mark Dreyfus “does not agree” with the human rights commissioner that the proposed Indigenous voice to parliament would undermine human rights principles of equality and non-discrimination in Australia, but would not comment on calls for the commissioner to consider her future in the role.

In an opinion piece published in the Australian on Thursday, commissioner Lorraine Finlay wrote that the draft wording of the referendum question and proposed amendment to the constitution “inserts race into the Australian constitution in a way that undermines the foundational human rights principles of equality and non-discrimination, and creates constitutional uncertainty in terms of its interpretation and operation”.