The Northern Territory's opposition will abstain from a motion expressing support for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, which the government has brought forward ahead of the upcoming Arafura by-election.
It follows the party's federal senator, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, previously indicating to the ABC's 7.30 the CLP would come out in opposition to the Voice.
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles introduced the motion expressing support in the NT Legislative Assembly on Thursday morning, urging politicians on all sides to support it.
The motion would only give symbolic support to the referendum, and comes a week after Ms Fyles and all other state and territory leaders signed a Statement of Intent to work collaboratively to "support a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament".
Addressing the chamber, Ms Fyles said the referendum was giving Australians the opportunity to "work together as a compassionate country and understand exactly what it means".
"The Voice is a form of recognition that allows Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to advise the federal governments of the day on policies that affect their lives.
"This means that governments will make decisions in partnership, not in a paternalistic or patronising [way], telling another group how to live their lives."
Ms Fyles did not reference the upcoming by-election this morning, after telling parliament during a heated debate on Tuesday night that Arafura voters would be "very interested" in hearing the CLP's position on the issue.
The electorate is compromised of mostly Aboriginal communities on the Tiwi Islands and west Arnhem Land.
The by-election will be held on March 18 and was triggered by the death of the sitting Labor member, who is not named for cultural reasons, in December last year.
The CLP's Central Council will meet this weekend, where the ABC understands members from several party branches will push for it to support the No campaign.
However, Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro on Thursday said the CLP supported the Voice in principle, but wanted the federal government to step up consultation and education in territory communities.
"If that comes up this weekend at our central council conference, then that's fantastic. This is about having debate on key policy issues that are affecting Territorians," she said.
"We support the concept, but there's absolutely no detail and no one in our communities have been consulted."
Ms Finocchiaro said the public was largely unaware of the details surrounding the Voice proposal, echoing the stance taken by federal opposition leader, Peter Dutton.
"People can't make a decision on something they don't understand and something they don't know about," she said.
"We are calling on the prime minister to not treat Territorians as fools, to come to the territory and to sit down and explain why it's going to be good."
Fyles accused of 'brilliant' but 'grubby' wedge
The motion was introduced on the same day alcohol restrictions were reinstated in Alice Springs and Central Australia, after they were fast-tracked through parliament on Tuesday.
The independent MLA for Araluen and former CLP deputy chief minister, Robyn Lambley, described Ms Fyles' decision to bring this motion months before the referendum as "very clever politics".
Ms Lambley said she was inclined to support the Voice "in principle" but would vote against the motion, labelling the move "brilliant" politics.
"The Referendum for the Voice in … federal parliament won't happen until October, which is eight months away, and here we are in mid-February debating this very issue.
"We are still in the stages of realising and developing this whole concept, and here we are. The Northern Territory government are hell-bent on winning the Arafura by-election on the 18th of March and they just want to get in here as quickly as they can and try and wedge the CLP."
"This is grubby, disgusting politics on your behalf."
Independent Mulka MLA Yingiya Mark Guyula, whose electorate takes in much of north-east Arnhem Land, expressed concerns that the "majority of remote community members do not know what a Voice to Parliament is".
"There have not been real consultations," he said.
"Lots more work needs to be done to include First Nations people in this process.
"I believe the voice to parliament by itself is not enough. We Yolngu and other First Nations [people] have fought for decades for treaty and we also acknowledge the critical importance of truth-telling."
