Voice vote to buck referendum trend, says Whitlam MP Stephen Jones

Mr Jones, Cunningham MP Alison Byrnes and Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney held a round table discussion with 40 Illawarra First Nations representatives on Monday.

Read more: Wollongong Lord Mayor pushes for support of First Nations Voice

The referendum question asks voters to support a law "to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice".

That Voice would mean First Nations people would have input into decisions affecting them.

Since 1906 constitutional referendums overwhelmingly been defeated; of the 44 put to the public just eight have been approved.

Mr Jones acknowledged that reluctance but felt it wouldn't affect the chances of the Voice's success.

"There is the history - the numbers just point that out," Mr Jones said.

"But I think this one will be different because all of the research, all of the polling shows that the majority of Australians think this just makes sense.

"It's recognition and respect, consulting on the laws that impact on them and recognition of their 65,000 years of pre-existence."

The purpose of Monday's round table was to keep local indigenous leaders informed and involved in the process.

"We want to start the campaign to talk to the local region about the Voice to Parliament and recognition of First Nations people in the constitution," Mr Jones said.

"We don't want to be talking about First Nations people without first talking to them. So that was the purpose, to hear directly from them and to ask their permission to take the conversation more broadly."

Ms Byrnes said they had spoken to the local leaders last year about the Voice to Parliament referendum.

"We've come back today to start the conversation," Ms Byrnes said.

"Our local campaign should absolutely be led by indigenous voices and the consultation should be led by them as well."

The federal opposition had been raising questions about the Voice, which Mr Jones labelled as "ingenuine" and suggested the Liberals' recent loss in the Aston by-election could change the party's focus.

"The people who are raising [those questions] have been involved in this process for the best part of a decade," he said.

"They know the answers to the questions that they are asking.

"I won't be surprised if at some stage when parliament goes back Peter Dutton says he's against it. The only thing that I think might correct his behaviour is that the sort of negative politics that he peddles got a wake-up call in the Aston by-election on the weekend."

Our news app has had a makeover, making it faster and giving you access to even more great content. Download The Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store and Google Play.