Constitutional recognition of indigenous Australians should not be owned by any political party, Liberal MP Ken Wyatt says.
Mr Wyatt was tabling a parliamentary committee report on Thursday giving the green light to a referendum to recognise indigenous people in the constitution and remove its racist sections.
"This is not owned by any of us. It's owned by all of Australia - black and white, urban and regional, rich and poor," the indigenous MP told the lower house.
Opposition indigenous affairs spokesman Shayne Neumann said constitutional change must be real and substantive.
"Preamble words, symbolic changes will not get it done," he said.
Racist provisions must be removed in the nation's founding document, he said.
"The needs and aspirations, dreams and desires of Aboriginal people be protected from governments passing laws which adversely discriminate against them."
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