Government appoints First Nations leaders to guide referendum on Indigenous voice

The minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, was due to use a speech on Thursday night to reveal the three tasks for the new referendum working group ahead of its first meeting with the prime minister on Friday.

Burney says the working group will consider the timing to conduct a successful referendum, refine the proposed constitutional amendment and question, and determine the information on the voice necessary for a successful referendum.

The group, all of whom are Indigenous, includes Noel Pearson, Megan Davis and Pat Anderson, the architects of the Uluru Statement, and Prof Marcia Langton and Prof Tom Calma, who conducted a three-year consultation for the previous government. Others members include those who have long been involved in the campaign for constitutional reform.

In a show of bipartisan support, the former Liberal minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt, will be part of the group, which is co-chaired by Burney and Senator Pat Dodson.

There will also be a second, larger group whose job it will be to build community awareness and support for the referendum, engage with First Nations communities and advocate for the voice. This referendum engagement group will include land councils, local governments and community-controlled organisations.

On Monday night the Minerals Council voiced support for the Uluru statement from the heart.