Chief Minister Natasha Fyles has hit back at former prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott over their criticism of the Northern Territory as a "failed state", unable to provide basic services to remote communities.
"I'm sick of people from the east coast using the NT as political football," Ms Fyles said on Monday.
"We know our challenges ... so it just appals me that as soon as there is a national debate or some type of an election to win they bring the territory out."
In comments reported in The Weekend Australian, Mr Howard argued the voice to parliament would not improve practical outcomes for people in remote communities in central Australia.
"You can make all sorts of changes to the Constitution but unless you have a police force, you have medical services and you have an education system that is up to the task of helping the disadvantaged, then you're going to have a failure of government," he said.
"And that's what's happened in the NT."
The 2007 coalition government, led by Mr Howard, launched the intervention in the territory and sent the ADF into remote Indigenous communities to police alcohol restrictions and pornography bans.
The intervention was heavily criticised and has had long-lasting effects.
"The intervention was a recognition that the NT government had completely failed in its responsibilities and it doesn't appear as if a lot has changed over the 15 years that have gone by," Mr Howard said.
"I think what emerged from the events in the territory was a further indictment of the inability, the failure of the NT government to provide the basic services."
In the same report, Mr Abbott echoed Mr Howard's comments, saying the territory's education system was failing.
"Central Australia basically resembles a failed state," he said.
"Education delivery is a huge recurring problem because of a chronic failure of administration in central Australia."
Ms Fyles said the federal government consistently ignored issues in the territory when it came to funding decisions.
"It was the Commonwealth that walked away from the NT" she said.
"They brought the intervention and associated laws and when that was ceasing under a coalition government, they did nothing."
Ms Fyles dismissed Mr Abbott's commentary saying she was a product of the public education system and that "southerners" tended to ignore the "success stories" of the top end.
"I urge all Australians to look at some of the examples in the NT that have succeeded because we listen to (Indigenous) voices," she said.
Australians will vote in the referendum on October 14.
