Senior minister Tanya Plibersek has cautioned Australians not to confuse the status of the proposed Indigenous voice to parliament.

“This is a voice, not a veto,” she told the Seven Network on Monday.

“It is a really important vote. It will be a chance for Australians to talk about the sort of nation we want to be in the future, to send a message to the world and get more practical delivery of healthcare and education and so on for First Nations Australians.

“I think the most important detail here, is this is a voice, not a veto.”

Ms Plibersek said the conversation about the proposal was well underway and a picture of what it might look like was gathering detail.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese a month ago described the sort of question people would be asked to vote on and the sort of change framers wanted to see in the constitution.

“The … working group are already talking about what the voice would look like. It would be transparent, accountable, elected by local Aboriginal people. It would be gender balanced, it would have a youth voice,” she said.

“We are months away from a vote and there will be more detail between now and then.”

However Shadow Attorney-General Julian Leeser said the opposition had been reasonably asking for detail since the election but little had been forthcoming.

“I’m at this point saying the government is in danger of losing me because I just don’t think they’re listening,” Mr Lesser told ABC radio.

“I’m really trying to get them to listen to the reasonable concerns that people are raising because it’s not me sitting here dreaming up reasons to ask these questions, these are the things that people are asking me.

“I’ve really felt over the summer as I was talking to people … it shocked me how (they) were so concerned.”

Opposition leader Peter Dutton said on Sunday any proposal would need to address racial inequalities and improve reconciliation.

However he stopped short of officially endorsing the need for a voice, saying there needed to be tangible action first.

“It’s not so much in my mind whether or not there’s a voice, it’s whether there’s action from the government,” he told Sky News.

“I want an outcome that’s going to bring an end to the violence, the sexual assaults on children taking place in Alice Springs at the moment.

“Their voice is not being heard now.”

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