Tony Abbott makes case against Indigenous Voice to parliament

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has accused an inquiry into the proposed Indigenous Voice to parliament of performing a backflip.

Tony Abbott has called for the Indigenous Voice to parliament proposal to be scrapped or at least significantly changed as he appeared before an inquiry into the suggested constitutional amendment.

The former prime minister gave evidence before the parliamentary committee examining any legal risks posed by the proposed wording to enshrine the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advisory body to parliament and executive government in the nation’s founding document.

Mr Abbott made his case against the Voice as he made a last-minute appearance at the inquiry’s final day of hearings in Canberra after the Labor-majority committee backflipped on its initial decision not to let him speak.

Speaking before the inquiry, the former Liberal leader, who went on to become a special envoy on Indigenous affairs in the Morrison government, said he was giving evidence as a “private citizen” who held grave concerns about the Voice.

Mr Abbott claimed the current proposal would grant the advisory body an “effective veto” over government policy and would leave the High Court to determine the “ramifications” of the Voice through future legal battles.

“If the government nevertheless is determined to go ahead I would very much urge this committee recommend to the government that the proposal be significantly altered,” Mr Abbott said.

Tony Abbott has appeared before the committee hearing. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

He said nothing the Voice did should be justiciable — liable to trial in a court — or amount to a veto over the government and that both of these principles must be added to the proposed constitutional amendment.

The government has insisted the Voice would not have any veto powers and the parliament would iron out the details of how the advisory body would operate through the usual manner of debating legislation, should the referendum succeed.

As it stands, Australians will vote sometime in the final three months of the year on whether the nation’s founding document should be altered to enshrine an Indigenous advisory body to parliament and executive government, which includes federal cabinet and the public service.

Giving the Voice the ability to advise the executive government has been contentious among some conservatives and lawyers who are concerned it could lead to legal challenges in the High Court.

The proposed constitutional amendment would give parliament the power to make laws relating to the Voice including its composition, functions, powers and procedures.

Mr Abbott on Monday claimed it was wrong to say Indigenous people overwhelmingly supported the proposal as it stood, saying the referendum would result in a divided nation regardless of its outcome.

He also took aim at “politically correct thinking” which he said meant many politicians blamed “intergenerational racism” for alcohol abuse and violent crime in central Australian communities rather than personal decision making.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese released the wording of the proposed constitutional amendment in March. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Governments had spent “an avalanche” of money but failed to improve real outcomes for Indigenous people, he said.

His alternative to the Voice is to get more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people into federal parliament as MPs and senators.

Taken to a speech he made in 2014 in which he said he would “sweat blood” to ensure constitutional recognition for Indigenous people, Mr Abbott said he stood by his comments.

He said he still backed constitutional recognition for Indigenous people and always had.

“No” advocate Warren Mundine, Voice-proponent and long-time social justice advocate Father Frank Brennan and pro-Voice campaigner Noel Pearson have also appeared before the committee on Monday.

The committee has also heard from Aunty Geraldine Atkinson, co-chair of the First Nations People’s Assembly of Victoria, as well as South Australian First Nations Voice commissioner Dale Agius.

These witnesses have given evidence about how their respective Indigenous representative bodies have functioned at a state level.

The bipartisan parliamentary committee is examining the proposed constitutional alteration before parliament votes on legislation to finalise the wording of the referendum question and the constitutional change in June.

Originally published as Tony Abbott makes case against Indigenous Voice to parliament