Moderate Liberals have expressed disappointment with the party formally opposing the referendum for the Indigenous voice.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Following a two-hour meeting in Canberra on Wednesday, the party agreed to support the constitutional recognition of Indigenous people, but not an enshrined voice to parliament and executive government.
Tasmanian MP Bridget Archer said there were few members of the party, including herself, who spoke out against the stance.
"I'm not really surprised. But I am disappointed. ... This has been some time in the making. ... Nobody is probably going to be really too surprised about the decision that we have made today," she told reporters in Canberra.
"Today's decision is, whilst not surprising, it's also a day late and a dollar short and I will continue to work with what is being proposed and encourage Australians to move towards a 'yes' vote."
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said he believed only "three or four" members of his party room would campaign for "yes".
He said the Liberals did not support "the prime minister's Canberra voice", but rather wanted a legislated local and regional voice mechanism.
Backbenchers will be allowed to cross the floor on the issue.
Ms Archer described the party room meeting as "one-sided", and said the Liberals needed to come to terms with the consequences of the decision it had made.
"They have to try and find a way to reconcile that and to distance themselves from views that we will see, and have already started to see, in the context of a 'no' campaign that are divisive, and that are racist," she said.
Fellow moderate Liberal Andrew Bragg said he maintained an open mind on the voice as a supporter of the proposal.
"Through our inquiry, we should seek the best constitutional amendment to empower communities which is also safe for our institutional framework," he said.
"The process to date has been poor, but that is not a good enough reason to oppose the referendum in my opinion."
Nationals leader David Littleproud said the party would still oppose any form of an Indigenous voice, but said it was likely the Nationals would support recognising Indigenous people in the constitution preamble.
"When you've got three political parties, basically, with different views. It's now important for the prime minister to ... lead this country in a direction that brings us together, not divides us," he told reporters in Toowoomba.
"In putting in place another layer of bureaucracy (for a voice), in adding another to the over 1000 indigenous representative bodies now, it is not a principle that my party room could accept."
Liberal MP Keith Wolahan said it was not an easy decision to make, but members had a "good heart for Indigenous Australians".
Greens leader Adam Bandt said the opposition was offering nothing but division for the referendum.
"The rest of the country is starting to reckon with its past as we march towards a treaty, but Peter Dutton is trying to ignite a culture war," he said.
Member of the referendum working group on the voice Thomas Mayo said it was disappointing the Liberals chose to oppose the voice, but remained confident of the proposal's success.
"They've chosen to refuse us the fairness of a voice. I'm no less confident that we can succeed. It's the Australian people who will ultimately decide," he said.
Australian Associated Press
