Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says a bipartisan committee to develop the Indigenous voice to parliament is a ‘no-brainer’

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s declaration a bipartisan parliamentary committee to develop the voice was a ‘no-brainer’ came as Peter Dutton slammed PM’s ‘desperate’ idea.

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says a bipartisan parliamentary committee to determine how the voice works is a ‘no-brainer’. Picture: Martin Ollman

Leading No campaigner Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says she absolutely expects to help inform how an Indigenous voice to parliament operates if the referendum succeeds, as Peter Dutton lashed ­Anthony Albanese’s attempt at ­bipartisanship through a major party-led committee.

Three weeks out from polling day, the Prime Minister announced he would convene a parliamentary committee with co-chairs from both the Labor Party and Coalition “to secure maximum support” for voice legislation in the event of a Yes vote.

It would be up to the parliament to determine the voice’s composition, functions, powers and procedures.

The No campaign said Mr ­Albanese’s “bipartisan olive branch” was insulting and a “slap in the face” to Australians.

“The government has spent the last few months demonising anyone who disagrees with them to then turn around five minutes to midnight and extend some sort of bipartisan olive branch,” a No campaign spokesman said.

“At every opportunity the Labor Party and the Yes campaign have sought to divide at this referendum.”

Senator Price, who is the opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman, said a bipartisan parliamentary committee was a “no-brainer” if the referendum succeeded.

“There would have to be a bipartisan approach to creating this, and being the shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, I would absolutely expect to be sitting at that table,” she said.

“This is an attempt for him (Mr Albanese) to appear as though he was acting in a bipartisan way. But the bipartisan approach is long gone.”

The Opposition Leader said Mr Albanese should have worked in a bipartisan way before he announced the draft wording of the constitutional question and amendment at Garma in mid-2022, shortly after winning the election. He blasted the bipartisan parliamentary committee that scrutinised the government’s referendum proposal, calling it a “complete and utter farce”.

“The Prime Minister is playing political games here. This is an 11th hour desperation move to try and salvage the Yes vote and I don’t believe it’s going to work because people don’t see the Prime Minister as being sincere,” Mr Dutton said.

“He’s not sincere when he says that this is just a ‘modest change’. Australians know that’s not the truth, they know their Prime Minister is not being honest with them. There’s been no constitutional convention and people don’t know – including in Indigenous communities – how the voice will impact them; whether it will be negative or positive.”

Mr Albanese on Monday pitched the voice as a “non-binding advisory group”, as the latest Newspoll showed support for the reform continued to fall, with just 36 per cent of Australians saying they’d vote Yes compared to 56 per cent who would vote No.

He said the Yes campaign would continue to put the case and urged Australians to look at the question before them.

“A lot of the debate is about things that people are not voting either Yes or No for on October 14,” the Prime Minister said.

“It’s a very clear question before the Australian people. In recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the first peoples of Australia, and then, there shall be an advisory group, a non-binding advisory group, the voice – it may give advice on matters affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

“And the third is the primacy of the parliament, the structures of government and parliament stay exactly as they are today.”