Architects of the Uluru Statement from the Heart will use a meeting with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to directly make the case for why the Liberal Party should support this year's referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
Mr Dutton will on Thursday attend a meeting of the Referendum Working Group via video link after accepting an invitation by the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney.
Prominent First Nations leaders Pat Anderson, Professor Megan Davis and Noel Pearson will deliver a presentation to Mr Dutton which they say will aim to provide a "broader understanding of the grassroots genesis" of the Voice and the difference it will make.
Mr Dutton has called for more information about the Voice and has not yet declared whether his party will back the referendum, which is due to take place in the second half of this year.
During the meeting, he will also be shown a video that includes the views of six Indigenous leaders, community workers and students from regional and remote parts of the nation explaining how the Voice would empower their communities.
Professor Davis – who is a constitutional law expert, Cobble Cobble woman and co-author of the Uluru Statement – said she hopes the meeting will help persuade Mr Dutton to back the referendum.
"I am hopeful it will help clarify for him how significant a constitutionally enshrined Voice is for our people and for the nation," she said.
"We gifted the Uluru Statement from the Heart to the Australian people, not politicians, because it is too important to get caught up in partisan politics.
"Our people know that when they are heard, they do get better outcomes for their communities, for their families.
"Our hope is that Mr Dutton and his party room support First Nations Peoples and help bring the whole country together to make this important constitutional change."
Professor Davis was a driving force behind the Uluru Statement, which was created in 2017 and called for legal and structural reforms including a Voice embedded in the constitution to give First Nations people a say when it comes to laws and policies that affect their communities.
She said Mr Dutton wasn't present at the local meetings that culminated in the Uluru Statement being agreed to and signed.
"He wasn't as fortunate as others in the room to have been involved in the grassroots dialogues, where First Nations Peoples passionately shared their frustration at not having a say in the laws and policies that are too often imposed upon them," she said.
"The Uluru Statement from the Heart is a historic First Nations consensus on the way forward in Australia. It represents the wish of First Nations Peoples throughout the country who want a better future, and a change that delivers better practical outcomes on the ground in communities."
Mr Dutton is not attending the Canberra meeting in person because he will be at the funeral of Cardinal George Pell in Sydney, however, the Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians Julian Lesser will be physically present.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wrote to Mr Dutton, urging him to engage with the Referendum Working Group.
"This proposal is the culmination of years of discussion, consultation and hard work by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders peoples and so many others, including former minister for Indigenous Australians, the Hon. Ken Wyatt AM," he wrote.
"It is an extraordinary opportunity for every Australian to be counted and heard — to own this change and be proud of it."
The Greens are still deliberating their position on the Voice, while the Nationals announced their opposition late last year arguing the body would not improve the day-to-day lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
