Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has a packed schedule today — he’ll attend the funeral of cardinal George Pell before dialling into a meeting with the architects of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
The Pell funeral will be held in Sydney’s St Mary’s Cathedral, where Dutton will be joined by ex-prime ministers Tony Abbott and John Howard, among others.
People who won’t show up to the funeral include Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Governor-General David Hurley, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns.
At the Canberra meeting with the Uluru Statement architects, a Voice to Parliament referendum working group will explain to Dutton why they support the proposal.
“This presentation will provide the leader of the opposition with a broader understanding of the grassroots genesis of the First Nations Voice, a greater insight into why people in First Nations communities are supportive of a Voice to Parliament, and why people in First Nations communities believe it will make a difference,” reporters were told ahead of the meeting.
The presentation will be conducted by professor Megan Davis, Pat Anderson and Noel Pearson.
Dutton will also be shown a four-minute video with testimony from First Nations people explaining why they believe in the Voice.
“A Voice in the constitution would mean an end to remote Aboriginal people being forgotten about because they would have representation,” Wardaman woman Dr Josie Douglas says in the video, which you can view here.
Dutton has not said definitively whether the Liberal Party will support the referendum but has repeatedly called for more “detail” on the proposal.
