The Labor and Liberal parties remain at odds over the progress of Indigenous Voice to Parliament proposal, as both sides accuse each other of hampering the proposed referendum's chances of success.
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The Liberal party room is set to meet at Parliament house in Canberra on Wednesday in an effort to form a position on the Voice but opposition spokesman for Indigenous Australians Julian Leeser has shut down expectations that a final stance will be formed on the day.
Instead, in an appearance at the National Press Club on Monday, the long time advocate for constitutional recognition suggested the proposed referendum should be pushed back. He also urged the Albanese government to adopt new measures which he indicated would boost the chances of a successful referendum.
Mr Leeser called the government to shift the focus to local and regional voices, as per recommendation in the report by Voice co-designers, professors Tom Calma and Marcia Langton.
"Our plan was to build from the ground up. The plan was for local and regional voices first as recommended by Calma and Langton ... then a national voice," he said.
He also wanted the government to drop a symbolic opening and a clause in the proposed constitutional change that would allow the Voice to advise executive government, leaning on fears of the proposition triggering legal challenges.
"I think the second clause is ultimately the led in the saddlebag of a successful referendum," he said.
![Opposition spokesperson for Indigenous Australians Julian Leeser. Picture by Jamila Toderas Opposition spokesperson for Indigenous Australians Julian Leeser. Picture by Jamila Toderas](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/209641672/5bb4cb8e-e5d6-43ec-ab0c-f890f5155205.jpg/r0_122_5000_2944_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Mr Leeser told the National Press Club the government had mishandled the process.
His address follows a historic Liberal loss in the weekend Aston by-election, which many political commentators have attributed to the party being out of touch on key issues, including the Voice.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and large number of Coalition frontbenchers were absent from the chamber last Thursday when Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus introduced the bill set to trigger the referendum.
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Speaking to the media in Adelaide, Mr Albanese accused the opposition of trying to "undermine the prospects of a successful referendum".
He said he hasn't seen any suggestions from the opposition on changes to the wording of the proposed legislation, despite the draft wording being unveiled last year.
"Julian Leeser himself was a part of a process way back in 2014, nearly a decade ago, that spoke about representations being able to be made to Parliament and executive government," he said.
"Julian Leeser has been a part of the writing of the words in the legislation, which was moved by our Attorney-General last Thursday."
The death of prominent Indigenous leader Yunupingu, a strong supporter of the Voice, has heightened focus on the referendum.
Professor Langton told Sky News that Yunupingu, one of Australia's most renowned Indigenous land rights activists, was "instrumental in devising the notion of constitutional recognition".
Mr Albanese said Indigenous people expect the Voice "to be advanced".
"This will be important to show respect to them. But it will also be an important moment for non Indigenous Australia to recognise the richness and fullness of our history of sharing this continent with the oldest continuous culture on Earth," he said.
If the proposed legislation passes parliament, the referendum is expected to be held between October and December this year.