A Liberal backer of the Indigenous voice has hit out at the proposal for constitutional change being treated by MPs and senators as a "routine political issue".
As debate on the constitutional reform continued into the night on Wednesday, moderate Liberal Andrew Bragg said it was up to the government to press the case for a 'yes' vote.
Senator Bragg told parliament he would support the Indigenous voice and urged other coalition members to do the same, saying the proposal was a "very Liberal concept".
"The status quo has not been good enough, and that is why this issue is so important," he said.
"Unfortunately, this has been treated more like a routine political issue than a constitutional reform.
"The government still has time to improve this bill and to build out some more common ground.
"I hope they do."
The Senate is debating the final form of the referendum and proposed constitutional change, with a vote expected to be held next week.
The referendum is slated to be held between October and December.
Senator Bragg said the voice would build on the successful 1967 referendum that enabled Indigenous people to be counted in the census.
While he said "little progress" had been made by the government to bring more people on board to the referendum proposal, he hoped the 'yes' case would succeed.
He rejected claims by other senators that the voice would add the element of race to the constitution.
"We have race-based laws at the national level," he said.
"We have a country that has had race at its heart for 250 years.
"To argue that (the voice) is the introduction of race today is fundamentally untrue."
It comes as assistant Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said the 'yes' camp had a responsibility to call out misinformation.
"We have to call out misinformation and disinformation and we also have to give an assurance that there is a reason why we are going down this path," she told ABC TV on Wednesday.
"It is a path that I do believe and have said from the beginning that is about Australia ... it does mean that we are going to struggle with issues but I do still believe we will come out the other side of this."
The comments came after Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney said the 'no' campaign was bringing "Trump-style" politics to the country ahead of the referendum.
