Indigenous voice to parliament battlelines have been drawn and there is no nuance and very little goodwill on both sides of the debate

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has gone ‘all in’ on the voice referendum.

Anthony Albanese has gone “all in” on the Indigenous voice to parliament and executive government referendum and offered nothing, not a crumb of consolation, to those with genuine concerns seeking some compromise.

The debate is set, the battlelines, drawn so long ago, are unchanged and there is a fateful air of a bruising and bitter debate to come.

The unaltered plan for a referendum recognising Indigenous Australians and including a new chapter to create an Indigenous voice to parliament has begun its inevitable and unchangeable course through parliament.

The die is cast for an October referendum question, which the Prime Minister has supported and wanted from the beginning and which has no concession for even the fervent supporters of the voice who fear it will fail because of overreach and a lack of real debate and explanation.

We know there were concerns expressed about the extent of interference from the voice in daily decision-making of government, even within the Indigenous working group; we know genuine supporters of a voice who fervently want it to succeed fear it will fail if not changed; and we know that Albanese pleaded with critics in parliament to join the process and declared he was “open” to what the parliamentary committee ­decided.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. Picture: Liam Mendes

Yet as of Monday we now know there will be no change – the working group’s final decision on advice to executive government was accepted by cabinet; the government-run parliamentary committee brooked no change; and Albanese has sought no different path.

As the formal Yes campaign begins with the referendum questions being put to parliament, the political reality is that there is no political bipartisanship; there is increasing personal acrimony; public polls show declining support for the referendum; and Albanese and Peter Dutton have huge political investments in the outcome.

Albanese maintains the Opposition Leader can’t win politically because if the referendum fails, he will be blamed for damaging Indigenous interests and reconcil­iation; if it succeeds, he will be deemed irrelevant.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Dutton argues Albanese is being “tricky” in hiding the true impact of the voice on executive government behind an emotional “vibe” appealing to the “overwhelming wish” of Australians to see recognition for Indigenous people.

“This Prime Minister refuses to provide even the most basic of detail on the voice model,” he told parliament on Monday and declared “details should come before the vote, not the vote before the details”.

The Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, ­described Dutton’s approach as “disinformation and misinformation” and said it was right to ­include executive government ­because that’s where the decisions were made and that the referendum was both “symbolic – and ­practical”.

Both sides have put their arguments, both sides will continue to do so and the absence of any compromise means there will be no nuance in the debate and little goodwill.