Senior Liberals Peter Dutton and Julian Leeser attend crucial Voice meeting

Peter Dutton has revealed his next move on the Indigenous Voice to parliament after attending a crucial meeting.

Peter Dutton has committed to further meetings with the government’s Voice advisory body, but is still insisting Anthony Albanese must provide concrete answers for how it would work.

The Opposition Leader and shadow attorney-general Julian Leeser joined the referendum working group on Thursday.

But even before the meeting, Mr Dutton had shut down any hopes of an immediate breakthrough in an interview on 2GB Radio.

Mr Leeser indicated the Liberals were no closer to supporting the Voice after the meeting, telling reporters: “I didn’t learn anything I didn’t already know”.

He urged the Albanese government to deal with the Opposition Leader’s “reasonable questions” about the Voice before it is potentially enshrined in the Constitution pending the outcome of a referendum later this year.

In a letter he sent to the Prime Minister in January, Mr Dutton asked 15 questions about how the proposed Indigenous advisory body would function.

Federal opposition Leader Peter Dutton attended the funeral for Cardinal George Pell before the meeting. NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Mr Dutton, who joined the meeting via videolink after attending Cardinal George Pell’s funeral in Sydney, did commit to further meetings.

“The Liberal Party will continue to be constructive and Mr Dutton has committed to further engagement with the referendum working group,” a spokesman said after the meeting.

However, he said the Prime Minister’s refusal to answer straightforward questions on how his Voice proposal would work was untenable.

“Australians deserve to be informed before voting at a referendum.”

Megan Davis, a key adviser on the Voice and an Uluru Dialogue co-chair, welcomed Mr Dutton’s commitment to continue engaging with the committee.

“Bipartisanship is something we would welcome. We welcome Peter Dutton’s commitment to further talks on the Voice referendum,” she told reporters.

Shadow attorney-general Julian Leeser says he has more questions about the Voice. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Before the meeting on Thursday, Mr Albanese issued a personal 11th-hour plea to Mr Dutton to strike a constructive deal with the government on the Voice.

Mr Albanese extended an olive branch to Mr Dutton in a letter sent on Wednesday evening, which, like Mr Dutton’s letter from earlier this year, was obtained by the media

The letter urged the Liberal leader to come forward with “any practical suggestions or amendments on the wording” of the proposed referendum.

“I would welcome your contribution,” Mr Albanese wrote.

“It is an extraordinary opportunity for every Australian to be counted and heard – to own this change and be proud of it.”

The Albanese government has maintained that amending the Constitution is the form of recognition Indigenous leaders asked for in the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart, saying the finer details will be ironed out through the usual parliamentary processes when the Voice is legislated.

Letter from Anthony Albanese to Peter Dutton about the Voice. Picture: Supplied

Mr Albanese has said the Voice will be an advisory body to federal politicians of the day on issues affecting Indigenous people, without any power to veto or otherwise override parliament.

The referendum working group – co-chaired by Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney and Senator Patrick Dodson – is made up of Indigenous representatives who are advising the federal government on the process.

After the meeting, Professor Davis called on all political parties to support the referendum to “seize the opportunity to move Australia forward for everyone”.

She said ultimately the Australian people would determine the outcome of this referendum, not politicians, given the Constitution was the “people’s document”.

Professor Megan Davis says the referendum working group would welcome bipartisan support for the Voice. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Mr Albanese said on Thursday he was “very hopeful and optimistic” about the referendum’s success.

In his opening remarks to the working group meeting, Mr Albanese suggested the time was right for Australians to take a significant step forward on reconciliation.

“One of the things that strikes me … is that when I was growing up, not too far from Redfern where there was a substantial urban Indigenous community, there was no such thing as an Acknowledgment or Welcome to Country,” he said.

“I never heard that. Never heard that.

“And now whenever you go, whether my local church, whether it’s a sporting event, whether it be any national event, it’s just a matter of course.”