Ms Turner,who is the niece of legendary Aboriginal leader Charlie Perkins,has become increasingly unhappy with the convoluted process set up by the federal government to respond to the landmark 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart.
Her criticisms are significant because she is one of 19 members appointed by the Minister for Indigenous Australians,Ken Wyatt,to a senior advisory group providing input on the Voice's"co-design". She has not previously gone public with her concerns.
The Uluru Statement contained a plea from Indigenous leaders for a constitutionally enshrined Voice to advise on laws affecting First Nations peoples. But ministers have made clear the Voice will not be constitutionally enshrined and will be a"voice to government"rather than to Parliament.
Delivering the annualAustralia and the World lecture at the press club,Ms Turner will say the Commonwealth's response to the Uluru statement has been"high on rhetoric"but"what is now unfolding is a convoluted and flawed process".
"We were not and have not been heard,"she will say. Seeking advice on a model does not amount to"shared decision-making",Ms Turner argues."It involves government selecting its own advisers,Indigenous and non-Indigenous,three separate committees,including a senior advisory group with potentially overlapping roles and terms of reference that impose limits on wider discussion by participants."
She says the fact that she and other committee members are"there as individuals – not representing or accountable to our own constituencies,organisations,membership or cultural groups … immediately compromises the strength of our voices".