People not yet ‘tuning in’ to Indigenous voice to parliament, says Annastacia Palaszczuk

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk believes support for an Indigenous voice has dropped because average Australians had not yet started ‘tuning in’ to the issue.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Thursday. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk believes support for an Indigenous voice has dropped because average Australians had not yet started “tuning in” to the issue.

An exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Australian this week revealed only 36 per cent of surveyed voters intend to vote yes, down from 43 per cent in June.

The same polling suggested the No vote has increased to 56 per cent, up nine points in the past three months.

Ms Palaszczuk said the voice proposal had been “extensively canvassed” and contained enough detail for people to make a decision.

“I think people are going to start tuning into this specific referendum question closer to the referendum date,” she said.

“At the moment, I think their minds are on other things.

“I think there are too many people out there complicating the issue. It is a very, very simple question about recognising First Nations people and bringing about reconciliation in this country.”

In April, Ms Palaszczuk was critical of the federal government for not being clearer on how the voice would work, and said she understood why people may be hesitant to vote yes.

Asked on Thursday how the commonwealth could turn sentiment around, Ms Palaszczuk said: “That is a matter for them, it’s a national referendum.”

Ms Palaszczuk would not say whether Queensland would pursue a state-based voice should the referendum fail.

“In Queensland our focus is now on truth-telling,” she said.

“That is the next stage on our path to reconciliation.”

Leading No campaigner Jacinta Nampijinpa Price told Sky News on Wednesday Queensland had been “pretty adamant in demonstrating that they’re not going to support this referendum going forward”.

“I think (Ms Palaszczuk’s) efforts are probably fruitless at this stage,” she said.

Regardless of the referendum outcome, Queensland is preparing to launch a truth-telling and healing inquiry to publicly air past injustices.

The three-year inquiry, which will have the coercive powers of a royal commission, will pave the way for dozens of treaty deals with First Nations groups.

Laws were passed through state parliament earlier this year, with support of the Liberal National Party, allowing the government to negotiate treaty deals.

Treaty deals are likely to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars apiece and factor in the number of Indigenous people killed in historic local massacres.

The exact number of Queensland treaties, which could take years to finalise, will depend on community consultation but there are about 150 Indigenous nations in the state.

A key argument of the No campaign has been to link the treaty deals to the voice referendum, which both major parties in Queensland have already supported.

Queensland LNP leader David Crisafulli walked back support for treaties after intense pressure from his party.

He still supports treaty laws but has ruled out giving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups taxpayer-funded compensation.