Opinion: Greens’ Lidia Thorpe lays out list of demands for Voice support
The Greens will pursue a treaty with Indigenous Australians and a truth-telling commission in exchange for backing the Voice to parliament in negotiations with the Albanese government as it seeks to build cross-party support for the constitutional change.
To hold a referendum legislation will need to be passed first, which means the Greens’ 12 votes in the Senate are critical. The Coalition has not said if it will formally support or oppose constitutional change but several Coalition MPs and former prime minister Tony Abbott have already spoken out against the Voice.
Thorpe said the Greens were ready to negotiate in good faith, as they had done on the climate change bill, and that she hoped the prime minister came to negotiations with an “open heart, ready to listen and work together to deliver justice to First Nations people”.