Wannon MP Dan Tehan repeats 'no' stance on Indigenous Voice to parliament

Wannon MP Dan Tehan said he was in favour of recognising the existence of Indigenous people in the Australian constitution, but permanently empowering a body to represent them could create problems.

"I have always said we should have constitutional Indigenous recognition. The advice I have is you could do that very simply in the preamble," he said.

"What that would do is just recognise a fact, and nothing else."

Mr Tehan said any change to the constitution should be limited to "the symbolic".

"I don't think that would be tokenistic. Constitutional recognition is something Indigenous people have sought for some time," he said.

Mr Tehan said his main reason for opposing the Voice was the principle that everyone should be treated equally.

"It's a fundamental legal principle, it's a fundamental constitutional principle and we should be doing everything we can to treat everyone equally," he said.

"We're not there yet, but that is what we should be striving for."

But Mr Tehan said he didn't object to law changes giving Indigenous people a greater voice on matters affecting them, as long as it was legislated by parliament, rather than enshrined in the constitution.

If a Voice to Parliament were legislated, it could be undone by a future government using further legislation, whereas a constitutional change could only be undone through a further referendum.

"The government has the numbers to legislate it tomorrow, but putting it in the constitution makes it permanent," Mr Tehan said.

"No one's saying we don't need to do more to help Indigenous Australians. I think everyone wants to make sure we continue to close the gap, but we disagree that this is the right way to do that," he said.

Mr Tehan said some "eminent legal opinion" had raised concerns about a constitutional Voice opening the door for legal action that would throw sand in the gears of government.

Most constitutional experts have dismissed such concerns, but Mr Tehan said there were always "varying interpretations" in the law.

"The point is there is some risk, and that to me is concerning," he said.

Mr Tehan said he was also frustrated the Albanese government wouldn't say what specific matters the Voice would be consulted on.

If the Voice were enshrined, it would then be up to the parliament to pass legislation defining the consultative scope of the body, but Mr Tehan said the government should specify that in advance.

"We think the government should say this is what it will or won't involve," he said.

IN OTHER NEWS

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: