Aboriginal leader Noel Pearson has urged independent MP Rob Oakeshott to back Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, saying he could lead the way on reconciliation.
Mr Pearson made a last-minute effort to persuade NSW MP Mr Oakeshott to back a coalition government on the grounds that it would do more for the indigenous population, The Australian newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Mr Pearson told the member for Lyne he believed Labor was unwilling to take on Aboriginal issues and, in particular, the overturning of the Queensland government's Wild Rivers law, which
limits developments in many Aboriginal areas.
"We're gonna get done over by an active Green agenda to stifle indigenous aspirations combined with a passive indifference on the part of Labor," the Aboriginal lawyer and land rights activist said.
"Abbott is from a new generation, but like Howard he has the capacity to carry conservative Australia with him in a way that I've always believed that Peter Costello or Malcolm Turnbull ...
are unable to do."
