Greens and Lidia Thorpe agree to disagree with the vote

“The Greens want the best possible outcome and we believe we have a responsibility to continue to constructively examine the government’s plan,” said incumbent leader Mehreen Faruqi.

Bandt attended the meeting but is still on leave and has not commented.

The party said in a statement that the constitution gives Green MPs and senators the right to vote differently from their peers and that party rules require them to inform the party hall as soon as possible if they choose to do so.

The result removes a potential hurdle on the way to a public vote, as Parliament must pass a bill this year to authorize the referendum and Labor may need the support of the Greens in the Senate if the coalition does not back it.

But it formalizes a rare split that Thorpe is likely to clash with her federal colleagues over a totemic policy for Indigenous Australians when she is the Green Party’s spokeswoman on First Nations issues.

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Other members of the party space could side with Thorpe on the issue and her decision is expected to be supported by members of the party who agree with her argument for a treaty rather than the vote.

The split comes after the Resolve Political Monitor this week revealed a drop in support for the vote over the past four months, with 60 per cent of voters backing the proposal when they asked a mere “yes” in a referendum-style question became. or “No” options. In a similar poll last September, approval was 64 percent.

The poll found Green voters were strongly in favor of the vote, with 87 per cent of them saying they would vote yes on the referendum-style question, compared with 72 per cent of Labor voters and 38 per cent of the coalition voters.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called on the coalition and the Greens to support the vote and unite the country.

“The Voice is about two things. It’s about recognition – that is, respect on our nation’s birth certificate. And it’s about advice – it’s about giving people a say,” he told Sky News.

Albanese said the vote will never be “above Parliament” and will never be able to veto Parliament’s decisions. He added that this “obedience” to Parliament was one of the criticisms of Thorpe’s proposal.

In a call for opposition leaders Peter Dutton and Bandt to support the vote, the prime minister said party leaders had an opportunity to bring the country together for reconciliation.

“I’m not the only person in a leadership position in this country – the leaders of other major parties and indeed smaller parties, including the Greens political party, this is a moment for them too,” he said.