Queensland LNP leader to vote against Indigenous Voice

Queensland LNP Opposition Leader David Crisafulli will vote against the Voice to Parliament but not campaign against it, with his party’s MPs free to vote as they wish.

But he echoed suggestions by federal party leader and fellow Queenslander Peter Dutton about a “risk” – rejected by prominent legal figures – the body could undermine Australia’s system of government.

“My MPs will be able to vote the way they wish and they can choose to campaign if they wish one side or another”: Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli.Credit: Matt Dennien

Crisafulli made the comments on Wednesday after declining to state a position on the issue for months, saying he was “mindful” of his leadership position and believing it was “important I put my views across”.

“I think every Australian wants to know that the parliament, the people who are elected, ultimately can be held accountable, and if there’s a body that could override that, that that is a big risk,” the Gold Coast-based MP said.

Rather than a Voice enshrined in the constitution, a key element of the proposal laid out in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, Crisafulli suggested it be created through legislation.

Only one of the 34 LNP MPs in state parliament, Gold Coast-based Sam O’Connor, has declared they would vote yes.

The topic has become a point of friction for the Coalition parties nationwide.

“My MPs will be able to vote the way they wish and they can choose to campaign if they wish one side or another,” Crisafulli said.

“In terms of this vote, I know there will be people who support my views, there’ll be people who disagree – I ask them to take the time, come to a considered position and do it in a respectful way.”

Polling released last month placed the yes vote ahead in every state and territory. But support has been slipping amid debate the country’s race discrimination commissioner has warned leaders against turning into a “racial bun fight”.

The pressure of that debate has spilled into state-based issues, with some grassroots LNP members reportedly outraged at MPs’ support for the Palaszczuk government’s Path to Treaty laws passed this month.

Labor’s newly minted Treaty Minister Leeanne Enoch, a Quandamooka woman and the first Indigenous woman elected to state parliament, described Crisafulli’s rejection of the Voice as a “failure of leadership”.

A referendum to enshrine the Voice in the Constitution is expected to take place this year, before further work to establish the detail of its structure.

A report produced for the previous federal government on how the body could operate was released publicly nearly two years ago.