Leading campaigners for and against an Indigenous voice to parliament will front a hearing as one of the scheme’s proponents warns of the difficulty in putting forward a winnable proposal.
The parliamentary hearing in Canberra will on Monday feature Noel Pearson, one of the voice’s leading architects, and a high-profile opponent in former prime minister Tony Abbott.
Other heavy-hitters due to speak at the final hearing of the voice inquiry include leading ‘no’ campaigner Nyunggai Warren Mundine, and Geraldine Atkinson from the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria.
Voice referendum working group member Sean Gordon told the hearing the challenge was putting forward a proposal at the referendum that was both worth winning and winnable.
“(Indigenous people) only make up three per cent of the population so we are dependent on the 97 per cent to support it,” he said.
“We need to understand that the consequences of not winning … our people will be severely impacted by a lost referendum.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged to move forward with the voice in his election night victory speech and has announced plans for a referendum in the final three months of the year.
In a statement before his appearance, Mr Abbott said the proposed voice was the biggest constitutional change Australians had been asked to make but it wasn’t getting the scrutiny needed for people to make an informed decision.
The inquiry will also hear from senior public servants, including the head of the National Indigenous Australians Agency, Jody Broun, and legal experts Professor Cheryl Saunders, Tony McAvoy and Father Frank Brennan.
On Friday, YouGov, a member of the Australian Polling Council, released figures showing that 83 per cent of First Nations people support the voice, while 11 per cent are against and four per cent remain undecided.
Professor Megan Davis, co-chair of the Uluru Dialogue, said Indigenous people understood the impact voice could have to improve lives and provide better outcomes.
“First Nations peoples want a say in the laws and policies that impact our lives every day,” she said.
“They can see the potential of the voice to deliver better decision making in Canberra, which will improve outcomes on the ground around the country in areas like health, education and housing.
“The proposal for the voice was first asked for by First Nations peoples at the grassroots nationwide regional dialogues and it continues to be supported in large numbers to this day.”
The inquiry has been holding hearings into the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice referendum legislation.
The committee is due to hand down its report on May 15.
By Rudi Maxwell in Lismore
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