Outright support not withstanding, the Nationals will formally oppose an Indigenous Voice to parliament, in a significant blow to the referendum campaign that opens the door to the Liberal Party to follow suit.

Announcing the decision with Country Liberal Party senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Nationals leader David Littleproud said the party wanted to empower Aboriginal people at a local level, “not create another layer of bureaucracy here in Canberra”.

Littleproud told Gary Adshead on 6PR Mornings the Nationals will oppose the initiative, ending the prospect of bipartisan support ahead of a referendum as early as next year, as they believe it will only contain a small cohort to represent vast communities.

Press PLAY to hear Littleproud explain his party’s philosophy on the issue 

“We believe in empowering local communities, in this case local elders, because you have local solutions to the challenges in regional and remote communities, you get better outcomes, and you have got to understand because of the sheer geography, that there will be different challenges and opportunities in each community,” he said.