Supporters of an Indigenous voice to parliament are kicking off a week of action to convince voters of the case for change as the federal opposition warns the referendum is doomed to fail.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be joined by Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney at a "BBQ for the voice" in his electorate in Sydney's inner west on Saturday.
The event comes after Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on Friday warned a referendum on enshrining the voice in the constitution was not going to succeed.
Mr Dutton accused the prime minister of withholding key details on how the voice would work after taking part in a second meeting with the referendum working group.
The government is weighing up the wording of the proposed constitutional amendment, including the divisive issue of whether it should include an explicit reference to the voice providing advice to the "executive government".
Concerns have been raised that the wording could open up the possibility of High Court challenges to future legislation, while some voice proponents are worried removing the words could limit its power and scope.
Ms Burney said during the "week of action" she would be travelling to Orange to meet with former Nationals MP Andrew Gee, who quit his party to sit as an independent over its opposition to the voice.
She would also travel to Melbourne for a series of forums and to Flinders Island in Tasmania with Liberal MP Bridget Archer, who has been pushing her party to back the constitutional change, she said.
"There is much work being put into this and my hope is that once this bill is introduced into the parliament, that people will grasp the significance of this, not just for Aboriginal people, but for all Australians," Ms Burney said.
Australian Associated Press
