The Greens have confirmed they will support the Voice to Parliament in the upcoming referendum, following the resignation of Senator Lidia Thorpe.
Senator Thorpe quit the party, and will sit as an independent, over divisions on the Greens’ stance on the Voice.
Senator Thorpe opposes the current proposal, but the Greens did not announce their stance until after her resignation.
Party leader, Adam Bandt, says while members will vote ‘yes’ in the referendum, they will also continue to pursue other goals.
“The Greens still believe that we should be striking a Treaty with our First Nations people and it’s our view that we should be doing that first. But we don’t think that a No vote would get us any closer to truth and treaty.”
The announcement has been welcomed by the Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney.
“I very much welcome the Greens’ support and make it extraordinarily clear that the advice we’ve received from the legal expert group went to the heart that sovereignty is not affected by the establishment of a Voice.”
