Opposition leader Peter Dutton says there is “building bewilderment” at the lack of detail around the Voice to Parliament.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton says there is “building bewilderment” at the lack of detail around the Voice to Parliament.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

“I think there’s a lot of questions that people reasonably want answered,and if they’re answered satisfactorily,he may well win those people over,” Dutton said.

“But so far,I think there’s a lot of sort of building bewilderment from people,including on the yes case,” he said,arguing the prime minister had provided too little detail.

On Thursday,the Coalition stepped up its concerns on the referendum’s lack of detail,taking issue with the government’s push to scrap a requirement for voters to be posted an official pamphlet outlining the Yes and No case.

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Dutton told this masthead it was a “moot point” as to whether the Coalition would support the legislation to run the referendum because the bill already had sufficient support from the Greens and crossbench to pass.

“But we’ll have a discussion early next year and the party room will come to a position on the enabling legislation and a position on the Voice and we’ll make that public at the time,” Dutton said.

Coalition partners the Nationals are already formally opposed to a Voice to Parliament,with Country Liberal Party senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price arguing on Monday that the constitutional reform was “an idea that lacks complete and utter detail and based on emotional blackmail”.

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In response to mounting concerns within conservative ranks about the Voice,Albanese this week pointed to reports canvassing blueprints for the Voice. But the government has not officially adopted any model,instead saying it will be up to the Parliament to decide the detail if the referendum is successful.

Labor senator and Aboriginal elder Pat Dodson has also rejected Dutton’s calls for more information,saying the Australian people were being asked to vote “on principle,not on detail”.

Shadow Attorney-General Julian Leeser disagreed,saying “a successful referendum will only occur if the change is clearly explained,and there is transparency and detail”.

He said the proposed legal change allowing the government to scrap the referendum pamphlet would compromise the quality of public debate in the lead-up to the national vote and risked creating an avenue for misinformation.

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“This is not about whether you vote yes or no,” Leeser said. “This is about ensuring the government provides information so that Australians can make an informed choice.”

Shadow Special Minister of State Jane Hume said the scrapping of the pamphlet was worrying as misinformation had already played a role in Australian elections.

“But this is more than just an election,this is changing Australia’s governing document - it could not be more important,” she said.

Introducing the amending bill on Thursday,Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister Patrick Gorman said that while the government had decided against publicly funding a formal Yes and No campaign,it would fund a civics education campaign to explain the referendum.

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“This information will provide voters with a good understanding of Australia’s Constitution,the referendum process and factual information about the referendum proposal,” Gorman said.

He said the pamphlet,first introduced in 1912,was an outdated way to informing voters in a digital age.

“As the next referendum will be the first in the digital age,there was no need for taxpayers to pay for a pamphlet to be sent to households,” he said.

The bill will be referred to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters,which will report in early 2023.

While the Greens have condemned the Nationals for their stance on the Voice,the party’s First Nations spokeswoman Lidia Thorpe - who wants treaty negotiations to take priority over the Voice - said she had ongoing concerns that Indigenous people would be ceding their sovereignty through constitutional recognition.

Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe says the government has not responded to her concerns.

Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe says the government has not responded to her concerns.Credit:Rhett Wyman

“The government say that they’re sovereign,we say we’re sovereign,” Thorpe said.

“It’s time to negotiate what sovereignty actually looks like in this country. We’ve asked the government to provide evidence to us and to the people of this country,that going into the colonial constitution won’t cede our sovereignty and I’m still awaiting that evidence.”

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news,views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletterhere.

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