Wong, Bishop show up for Voice as unity breaks

Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her predecessor Julie Bishop have urged Western Australians to ignore the party politics in a show of Indigenous Voice solidarity after the state's party unity on the vote broke down.

Ms Wong and Ms Bishop joined YES23 campaign director Dean Parkin and Federal member for Perth Patrick Gorman on a Monday morning walk in the CBD to greet volunteers and campaigners drumming up support for a yes vote.

The duo also warned a no vote could harm Australia’s global reputation.

“If we can’t find it in our hearts to say yes to giving constitutional recognition to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, what are we saying about ourselves,” Ms Bishop said.

“(Indigenous people) deserve the right to take the risk and responsibility for outcomes that impact them.

“I was in federal parliament for 20 years and I didn’t see anything that worked.

“The one thing we didn’t do is say to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders ‘what do you see as problems and how would you fix it’.”

The show of unity comes after the WA Nationals on the weekend backflipped on support for a constitutionally enshrined Voice to parliament, following hot on the heels of a similar move from Liberal leader Libby Mettam in the wake of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act debacle.

Opposition leader Shane Love said he did not trust the Labor party and cited the ACHA among reasons to change stance.

Ms Wong said the referendum should be above politics.

“I know the no campaign want this to be an issue about politics,” she said.

“This is an issue about who we are as a country and whether… we have it in our hearts to listen to what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have said.”

Mr Parkin said the negative rhetoric was “very different” to what he was hearing from the 2,500 WA volunteers door-knocking on the issue.

“The overwhelming feedback we are getting from those interactions is there is a lot of generosity and goodwill in the Australian population for that vote,” he said.

“40 per cent of the population are undecided on the issue and can be persuaded to vote yes.”

A date for the referendum, expected to be held in mid-October, will be revealed this week.