Anthony Albanese acting like used car salesman on voice: Tony Abbott

Tony Abbott says Anthony Albanese only wants to talk about ‘the great duco’ on the voice to parliament, and not how the engine works.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

Tony Abbott has accused Anthony Albanese of behaving like a “used car salesman” on his campaign to support the indigenous voice to parliament because the Prime Minister only wants to talk about “the great duco” and not about how the engine works.

“The Prime Minister is not being frank when he says that this is a modest change,” the former Liberal Prime Minister said.

Mr Abbott said Mr Albanese had admitted only a “brave government” would go against the recommendations of the voice to parliament which Mr Abbott said made it a “fourth arm of government”.

On Tuesday morning Mr Albanese told his Labor colleagues said the referendum was about two things: recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the constitution and consulting Indigenous people on matters that affect them.

Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

“That’s what it’s about. And all of the misinformation that we’re seeing out there won’t distract from that great task,” Mr Albanese said.

But, in a podcast interview with the Institute of Public Affairs, Mr Abbott said Mr Albanese was not being frank and “should come clean” about what he is doing.

“Honestly, He’s like a used car salesman who says, ‘Yeah, it’s got great duco. Don’t worry about the engine’. Really, he’s not being frank. He must know that this would have far-reaching ramifications,” Mr Abbott said.

“In terms of what we might do to ourselves for the long term, this is by far the biggest issue facing our country. Any constitutional change is for keeps. Unlike legislation, which can always be reversed, any constitutional changes for keeps,” Mr Abbott said.

“Indigenous people need to be at the heart of the mainstream of Australia. Any spirit or sense or institutionalized separatism is destructive. And this is institutionalized separatism,” Mr Abbott said.

“I don’t have anything personally against the Prime Minister, who is a decent human being who wants to do the right thing, I’m sure, but he’s dead wrong on this, completely wrong. This idea that it’s a, as he said over the weekend, a modest but meaningful change. It’s not modest. It’s a very, very big change,” Mr Abbott said.