Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says he remains committed to eventually holding a referendum to recognise Indigenous Australians in the Constitution, but has rejected a recommendation for an enshrined Indigenous body to advise the parliament.
The recommendation from the Referendum Council was the result of a landmark four-day meeting of Indigenous people at Uluru in May.
Indigenous leaders decided they did not want a referendum to merely reference Indigenous people in the Constitution, instead pushing for a constitutionally-enshrined representative body that would advise the Parliament on Aboriginal affairs.
The government’s decision not to pursue the recommendation was reported last month, but the Prime Minister has now fully explained his opposition to the proposal.
“To have a national representative assembly which would be in the Constitution and to which only Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people could be elected – this is contrary to the principles of equality, of citizenship in Australia,” Mr Turnbull said after his on Sunday.
He said the idea had "no prospect at all of being successful in a referendum".
The proposal in the was worded in general terms, calling for “the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution.”
Indigenous leaders, including Noel Pearson, have explained this as a body that could provide non-binding advice to the Parliament.
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But Mr Turnbull said the proposal had “no detail” and would “inevitably” be seen by voters as a third house of Parliament, alongside the House of Representatives and the Senate, that was exclusive to Indigenous people.
He said the best way to improve representation was to encourage more Indigenous people to enter politics.
The Referendum Council’s Noel Pearson slammed the government’s retreat from the idea last month.
He said the prime minister should not pre-empt what the Australian people may or may not support in a national vote.
"Malcolm Turnbull has not had the decency to put the proposition that Indigenous people have a voice to the Parliament — not a voice in the Parliament," Mr Pearson told the ABC.
"Why not just put it to the Australian people, as we are putting through a plebiscite on the question about same-sex marriage at this very moment?"
"We urge the Australian Parliament to listen to First Nations peoples’ recommendations in the Uluru Statement, and to back this attempt to improve their circumstances and participate more fully in Australian society."
A , including the Australian Council of Social Service, is now calling for the government to reconsider the proposal.
“We urge the Australian Parliament to listen to First Nations peoples’ recommendations in the Uluru Statement, and to back this attempt to improve their circumstances,” the group statement reads.
