Tony Abbott calls Indigenous Voice to Parliament 'wrong'

High profile figures at loggerheads over the proposal put their cases forward at the final public hearing into the proposed constitutional amendment in Canberra on Monday.

Mr Abbott's position was at odds with the majority of First Nations leaders who addressed the joint select committee over the course of the parliamentary inquiry, including Cape York Indigenous leader Noel Pearson, who on Monday said it was "absurd to suggest that we should ditch it and go back to the drawing board".

Mr Abbott received a last minute invitation to address the committee, which is scrutinising the proposed bill that is expected to trigger a referendum this year, after claiming the "Labor majority" initially refused his request to speak about his submission in person.

Mr Abbott added that the referendum in its current form, whether a failure or success, would leave "Australians embittered and divided".

He told the inquiry he believed the Voice was "wrong" and "potentially quite dangerous in practice".

"I think it's a mistake to give about 4 per cent of the population more of a say over how our government and our Parliament works than everyone else," he said.

Mr Abbott, who supports constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians but not the Voice, also backed his earlier comments comparing the Indigenous body to the British House of Lords.

"The House of Lords at least prior to reforms in the late-1950s was entirely hereditary and this Voice will be hereditary in the sense that to be a member of the Voice, you have to have Indigenous ancestry. So to that extent, it is an entirely accurate comparison," he said.

He added that he didn't think the Voice would help improve life outcomes for First Nations Australians, instead stating that the nation should work towards getting more Indigenous people into parliament.

He also claimed it was wrong to say Indigenous people "overwhelmingly support the proposal as it currently stands".

However, fresh polling from YouGov, which surveyed 732 First Nations Australians across across the country, showed 83 per cent were in favour of the Voice being enshrined in the constitution.

The research, commissioned by the Uluru Dialogue, found that 51 per cent of the voting population surveyed would also vote "yes".

Mr Pearson said if fear-mongering resulted in a "no" vote, it would be a "complete tragedy for the country".

"I don't know that you could pick up the pieces after that ... I think there'll be a future of almost endless protest," he said.

"I don't really seriously think that a 'no' vote is gonna succeed. But as I say, I just cannot conceive of a plan B on this."

Mr Pearson said the Voice would improve democracy "by giving a voice to the most marginal community in the country".

READ MORE:

Indigenous leader and "no" campaigner Warren Mundine, who also gave evidence at the hearing, said the country was divided at the moment, with many people "scared" to speak out against the Voice.

But he told the inquiry that "if the 'yes' campaign gets up" he would "fight for it to be successful".

"Even though I'm a 'no' person, this is a democracy, and people have the freedom and the right to vote whatever way they want," he said.

Liberal MP Julian Leeser, who quit the front bench and his position as shadow spokesman for Indigenous Australians last month to campaign for the Voice, appeared in front of the committee in a personal capacity, and advocated for changes to the proposal.

"I support the Voice advising the executive ... executive is where the the most of the key decisions that affect Indigenous people are made," he said.

"But the question is really whether we should have this particular provision in the constitution because it has become the subject of political controversy."

Mr Leeser said he worried "that a referendum failure will haunt our country for decades".

The committee is due to hand down its report on May 15.