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AAP
AAP
Politics
Robyn Wuth

Qld Labor govt backs Indigenous voice

The Qld Premier challenged the state opposition to declare their position on an Indigenous voice. (Jono Searle/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

The Queensland government has passed a motion backing an Indigenous voice with the premier saying it will help Australia "move forward as nation".

Annastacia Palaszczuk moved the motion in support of the Uluru Statement from the Heart on Tuesday, hours after it was confirmed that state laws on an Indigenous treaty would be delayed until next year.

"If we are going to close the gap, if we are going to move forward as a nation - now is the time," Ms Palaszczuk told parliament on Tuesday.

"I'm proud to stand up in this parliament today and say that this House supports the implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart."

Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch, a Quandamooka woman and the first Indigenous woman elected to state parliament, said the voice would be an important step toward truth telling about the nation's history.

"This country has been living with an untruth for over 200 years, and that untruth is terra nullius," she told parliament.

"It has formed the basis of our constitution, It has formed the basis of failed policies from centuries ago, and it is the basis of intergenerational trauma and racism which First Nations people are still experiencing today."

The premier's motion comes after federal Nationals on Monday said they wouldn't back an Indigenous voice to federal parliament in a referendum.

Ms Palaszczuk attacked the opposition Liberal National Party MPs, who are aligned with the federal Nationals, calling on them to declare their stance.

"It is not right ... that the National Party seeks to divide our country at a time when we all should be working together," she said.

"Today, finally, is an opportunity for the Leader of the Opposition, and those opposite, to take a stand, and stand up for every First Nations Queenslander to show that this House supports the Uluru Statement from the Heart."

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said non-government MPs hadn't been given any forewarning about the motion, which he dismissed as "grubby, wedge politics" from the premier.

"I contrast the way the Prime Minister has conducted himself in this debate with the way the premier does, and I want to point to the leadership of the way that Mr Albanese has sought to build consensus on this versus the grubby wedge politics of our premier," Mr Crisafulli told the House.

The LNP leader said his focus was on improving the quality of life in the state's Indigenous communities, some of whom lacked running water and house.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles called Mr Crisafulli's speech "a disappointment", claiming the LNP was "too afraid to say what they really think" about a voice to parliament.

"So we get three minutes of guff from the Leader of the Opposition with no spine, no strength, no leadership whatsoever," he said.

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