Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is seeking assurances on the limits of the power of the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament, while remaining tight-lipped on how the Liberal Party will manage its position on the looming constitutional question.
The Albanese government was elected promising to hold a referendum — to be held later this year — to enshrine an Indigenous advisory body in the constitution, while leaving its composition, procedures and powers to be defined by the parliament of the day.
This would mean the body itself could not be axed with legislation by any future government.
The wording of the proposed constitutional reform says the new body would only make "representations" to the parliament on matters of policy that impact Indigenous people.
The broadness of that policy definition is the subject of ongoing debate.
On the weekend Mr Dutton released a letter to the prime minister containing 15 questions about the Voice, including whether it would be "purely advisory" or whether it would have "decision-making capabilities".
Asked by David Speers on 7.30 if the concern over decision-making was a "straw man" argument, Mr Dutton replied: "No, it's not."
"It's a very serious issue. So if we're proposing — if the government's proposing a system which would dramatically change the way in which our government would operate, our democracy would operate, then again we need to know the pros and cons of that, and then people can make their own decision," he said.
Pressed on the Voice being an advisory body only, Mr Dutton said that was "not what the report provides" — a reference to the 2021 report by academics Tom Calma and Marcia Langton on a potential design for the Voice, commissioned by the Morrison government.
Mr Dutton said the report left it open for the Voice to provide advice on "other matters", raising a concern that broad interpretations of what constitutes a law that affects Indigenous people might lead to policy areas like defence or foreign policy being captured by its remit.
The Langton/Calma report discusses the question of when parliament's "obligation to consult" the body might arise.
It suggests two triggers: when the laws in question are "overwhelmingly" related to Indigenous people, and when they are a "special measure" for Indigenous people as defined under the Racial Discrimination Act.
On the broader question of the Voice's role, the report says the purpose of the body — and its local components — is to involve Indigenous communities in government decision-making processes on laws that affect their lives.
The federal government has not endorsed the Voice model described in the report, but the prime minister has repeatedly referenced the 272-page document as evidence of the volume of publicly available detail about how such a body might function.
Liberal party room yet to decide on Voice approach
Several Liberal MPs have publicly called for the opposition leader to allow Liberal MPs a conscience vote on the Voice, rather than the party locking everyone into a binding position.
Asked if MPs would be given a "free vote" on the matter, Mr Dutton said he was "not going to circumvent or pre-empt what the decision of the party room would be".
"I understand that there are strongly held views and people with good intent who draw different conclusions in relation to the Voice," Mr Dutton said.
"I have great respect for my colleagues. We'll have the debate and we'll make a decision in the party room and we'll announce that in due course."
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