'Voice will increase simmering tensions between varying Aboriginal clans of Australia'

Former para-legal and mentor for women's business Cheryl Coulthard-Waye said a new "racism" would break out and it would turn Aboriginal against Aboriginal.

The Port Augusta leader was commenting on the federal government's plans to call a Referendum on whether there should be a Voice comprising representatives of the Indigenous community.

She said that instead of uniting Aboriginals, a "yes" vote would lead to arguments about what issues should be put to the government through the Voice.

"With the amount of tribes in Australia ... it will make a lot of racism in Aboriginal groups," she said.

"It is going to be like the American Indians who are fighting among themselves. It would be a declaration of war. It could get physical."

She said conflict had always simmered, particularly after the Uluru Statement from the Heart which she said portrayed Aboriginals as all being the same, not from different clans.

"It would be like putting Russians in with Australians," she said.

Another Adnyamathanha leader, Vince Coulthard, of Port Augusta, said he, too, could not see the Voice uniting the many tribes of Australia.

"We are different nations. People cannot put us in the same basket together," he said.

"We have our own politics to deal with. The mechanics of it need to be sorted out properly."

Mr Coulthard has held leadership positions in his community for many years and says some people are still dissatisfied with his role.

He queried how members would be appointed to the Voice, asking whether they would be elected.

"The Voice is a funny thing. Under our electorate now, we have a voice in parliament, but it doesn't really represent us," he said.

"I have been elected by my community on a year-by-year basis for 17 years, but people are still not satisfied with my leadership ... how is the Voice going to work?"

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney dismissed Ms Coulhard-Waye's claims, pointing to "consensus" among Aboriginals for the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

"The Voice will give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities a way to inform government policy and decisions that impact their lives," she said.

"Giving people a say will lead to more effective results that can improve people's lives.

"Australia has been talking about constitutional recognition for 15 years. It has been considered by constitutional experts, First Nations leaders, parliamentary committees and First Nations communities."

She said the Uluru statement had been forged from a historic consensus on reform and constitutional change by Indigenous people.

It had followed 12 "dialogues" around the nation. Joining each "dialogue" were a representative group of about 100 Indigenous people drawn from local traditional owners, community organisations and leaders. The "dialogues" had chosen their own representatives to attend the Constitutional Convention at Uluru.

"A First Nations Voice to Parliament is what thousands of First Nations people want as part of the Uluru Statement," she said.

IN OTHER NEWS