Law Council’s concerns over ‘voice’ model’s lack of details

The Law Council has warned against a referendum on an indigenous voice until a detailed model has been drafted.

Law Council of Australia president Arthur Moses.

The Law Council of Australia has warned Bill Shorten against holding a referendum on an indigenous “voice” to parliament until a detailed model has been drafted, saying a lack of information on the proposal may doom it to failure.

Law Council president Arthur Moses SC said a referendum on indigenous recognition was “long overdue” but warned it would fall victim to a scare campaign if it was presented with a lack of detail.

Pat Dodson, who would be ­indigenous affairs minister under a Shorten government, told The Weekend Australian Labor was considering taking the proposition to a referendum with guidelines on how the model “may work”. But its final form would be decided by parliament in legislation after a successful referendum.

But Mr Shorten said the next day a voice referendum would be a “fully formed proposition”.

Mr Moses said a referendum should only go ahead after a ­detailed model was negotiated ­between government, indigenous groups and legal bodies.

He said the model of the voice should be presented publicly “as close to its final form” as it can be before a referendum is held, ­although he accepted there may need to be changes through its ­implementation.

“The more detail there is, the better informed the public will be and the less scope for misleading statements by mischievous opponents of the referendum,” he said. “This will give us the best chance to achieve a positive result in the referendum. It is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to correct the wrongs of the past. We should not trip over ourselves but make sure we get it right so we can look to the future as a united nation.”

Mr Moses said there had been a “significant amount of confusion and misinformation” about the voice, which was recommended by the Referendum Council in the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

“It is critical that the voice and what it represents be properly understood and explained to our political leaders and the community before Australians are asked to vote on it,” he said.

Senator Dodson told The Weekend Australian that a constitutional vote would not enshrine a model for the voice into the Constitution, with a model to be finalised after a public vote.