Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe has written to clarify her stance on the Voice to Parliament following her comments backing a legislated Voice model in a radio interview on Thursday.
Speaking to ABC RN just two days out from the referendum, Senator Thorpe said she would "absolutely" support a legislated First Nations advisory body after criticising Anthony Albanese for ruling out the watered-down model in the event of a loss at the polls.
The Prime Minister said he would not move to legislate the Voice out of "respect" for the nation's voters last weekend, following opposition leader Peter Dutton's commitment to do so alongside Constitutional Recognition of First Peoples alone.
The Senator and Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman described Mr Albanese's stance as "weak".
"It's like, oh, I throw my bat and run away, I don't want to play no more kind of attitude," she said on Thursday.
Asked for her thoughts on a legislated Voice, Senator Thorpe responded in favour.
"Absolutely (I support it). Why not…let's see how it works," she said.
"I oppose the Voice because the Voice is window dressing for constitutional recognition. We don't want to go into the constitution on the government's terms, or on 97 per cent of this population's terms...We have to go into the constitution on our terms when we see fit once we've had a treaty conversation as a nation.
"So if legislation comes into that Parliament, saying that they want to set up another advisory body and it's going to be fully representative of the people; as long as we're not in that constitution or support it."
Senator Thorpe added "we need all the help we can get" under a federal government "who won't implement any recommendations to save our lives today".
The Blak Sovereign Movement leader has vocally campaigned against the Voice as a measure she says undermines First Nations sovereignty, whilst pushing treaty and truth as first measures.
In the same interview, Senator Thorpe said she thinks the majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people want those two things, and that she would see an unsuccessful referendum as a "victory".
"It'll be a beginning of a real healing journey and a truth telling journey that this country must take before anybody makes any decisions on us without us."
In a statement later on Thursday, the Senator seeked to clarify her comments around the legislated voice.
"My comments must be taken in the context of my consistent position that Truth and Treaty are the first steps that must be taken to bring peace to this land," she said.
"I want to make it clear that I do not support the Voice proposed by the government and no representative body should be established, in any form, unless it is the product of free, prior and informed consent of the First Peoples of this country.
"The Blak Sovereign Movement and grassroots mob have been consistent in their rejection of the current proposal for a powerless advisory body enshrined in the colonial constitution.
"We need an end to the era of powerless advisory bodies, where the role of First Peoples has been to give advice to a colonial government that can and does ignore that advice. Our Sovereign status means that they need to come to our table and negotiate with us."
She encouraged others to join her on the journey on the "a clear way forward for this country" following the referendum.
"Regardless of the outcome, the pathway forward begins with healing, Truth Telling, Treaty, implementing the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and Bringing Them Home report, and implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples."
In late September, Fairfax reported a number of Blak Sovereign Movement figures had moved away from their no stance on the Voice for fear of being aligned with the opposition leader or Pauline Hanson.
Senator Thorpe told National Indigenous Times at the time that the movement had not lost any traction, but did not wish to respond on behalf of the individuals quoted.
Last week, she launched a scathing attack on the federal government for failing to protect her from personal danger after being threatened in a concerning and racist neo-Nazi video shared online.
On Thursday, she stood by her claims and criticised Mr Albanese.
"I'm still under threat…my life is in danger. It's the art of war shut down. The Sovereign black woman who is starting to get a profile. I've had no protection from the Prime Minister in the way that is required."