Albanese ‘hopeful’ Qld will vote for Voice, as Katter’s Australian Party rejects it as ‘tokenistic’

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is “hopeful” Queensland will respond positively in the referendum push to enshrine the voice of Indigenous people in the constitution.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is “hopeful” Queensland will respond positively in the referendum push to enshrine the voice of Indigenous people in the constitution.

His comments come as the Katter’s Australian Party, whose four MPs cover electorates across the state’s north, confirmed it would not support the “separatist, tokenistic, and paternalist agenda sought by the voice”.

Australians, on referendum day in the back end of 2023, will be asked whether they agree to amend the Constitution to guarantee the existence of an Indigenous advisory body to parliament.

A major information campaign by supporters of the referendum will kick off from Saturday, with the national program by the architects of the Uluru Statement inviting Australians to take part in online “yarning circles” to increase understanding of the Voice proposal.

Katter’s Australian Party, led by Queensland MP Robbie Katter, confirmed on Friday it could not support the push to enshrine the voice as it was presented now.

“We are not convinced that the Voice to Parliament – and the ensuing arguments around Treaty, sovereignty and self-determination – are occurring in the spirit of unity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians,” Mr Katter said.

“Instead, these agendas serve only to divide us and the KAP will not participate in that.”

The federal Liberal Party, led by Peter Dutton, are yet to come to a unified position. Mr Dutton has in recent days declared he doesn’t believe the referendum will succeed.

Mr Albanese, in Brisbane on Friday, said he was “hopeful” Queensland would respond positively to enshrining a voice when asked if he was concerned about how the referendum would be run politically in the state.

“It’s about recognition and about consultation and this is not about the politicians or political parties,” he said.

Mr Albanese said the voice would be a positive for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and was a “means to an end” in closing the gap.

Part of the KAP’s opposition to the voice as it stands, according to Mr Katter, is that governments and politicians would continue to not listen to First Nations people even when an Indigenous advisory body was in place.

The From the Heart campaign outlines the Voice as a way for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to provide advice to the government on issues that impact their lives, and for policies to be crafted “with” them rather than for them.

A Voice to Parliament gives the Australian Government the opportunity to make policies with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, rather than for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The federal government’s referendum working group, after a meeting on Thursday, signalled it would be providing further advice on how the constitutional change would be framed before the end of the month.