Former prime minister Kevin Rudd warns the world will conclude the ghosts of White Australia have returned if a referendum on constitutional recognition of indigenous people fails.
Mr Rudd will make the case for expansive public consensus and bipartisan political support to prevent the proposal dying before a vote or creating a divisive national debate on race which would "deeply scar" reconciliation.
"The race demon has not yet been fully exorcised or expunged from our national soul," Mr Rudd will say in a Australian National University Reconciliation Lecture on Wednesday evening.
Mr Rudd says he fears the loss of political momentum on constitutional recognition and the nation should get on with it while the climate is right.
"Let's remember that an agreed form of constitutional recognition provides a better starting point for ultimate justice than the present constitutional silence," he will say.
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Mr Rudd reflects on his direct experience preparing the national apology to the stolen generations in 2008.
"The apology was far from perfect. But we did manage to carry the nation with us.
