Australia’s main opposition party will campaign against including Indigenous people in the constitution in an upcoming national vote, ending hopes of a bipartisan push.
(Bloomberg) — Australia’s main opposition party will campaign against including Indigenous people in the constitution in an upcoming national vote, ending hopes of a bipartisan push.
After months of debate, the center-right Liberal Party declared its position on the Voice referendum following a two-hour meeting in Canberra on Wednesday. Party leader Peter Dutton said the result wouldn’t provide practical outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and he would be supporting a “no” vote.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Labor government won last year’s election with a promise to hold the referendum on forming a Voice to Parliament to advise lawmakers on issues affecting Indigenous Australians. It will also see the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population recognized in the constitution for the first time.
In recent months, Albanese has been holding talks with the Liberal Party in the hopes of getting bipartisan support for the proposal. The opposition was still in support of constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians, Dutton said, but called on Albanese to delay the 2023 vote to form a greater consensus.
“We want to make sure that we can get practical outcomes for Indigenous people on the ground,” Dutton told reporters in Canberra.
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