Recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the constitution has to be done right, or it will be put on hold for decades, Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt says.
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Speaking at the National Reconciliation Breakfast in Perth on Friday, Mr Wyatt said the government remained committed to constitutional recognition, but it would be a long and careful process.
"We want to get it right," Mr Wyatt said.
"If we don't, we risk putting this issue on hold for another 30 or 40 years."
He said work would continue with indigenous communities to design a model for the change and a referendum would eventually be held.
But the process would not be rushed, Mr Wyatt told 6PR radio, because when the republican referendum was lost, "the issue went dead".
"This is too important for it to fail."
Mr Wyatt defended sending a draft plan to Prime Minister Scott Morrison in February that suggested ways to break an impasse on constitutional recognition.
The Uluru Statement from the Heart in 2017 called for a First Nations Voice enshrined in the constitution and the creation of a powerful "Makarrata Commission" of elected elders that would supervise agreement-making between government and indigenous people.
But the proposal was shot down by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who said the advisory body "would inevitably become seen as a third chamber of parliament" and was not capable of winning acceptance at a referendum.
Mr Wyatt's draft plan was leaked to News Corp and reported on Wednesday - the same day he became the first indigenous Australian to hold the indigenous affairs portfolio.
The article stated he sent the document to Mr Morrison because he was "angling" to take over the role from his predecessor Nigel Scullion.
Mr Wyatt said that was incorrect and he just wanted to see if Mr Morrison saw merit in his ideas.
If so, he would have passed them on to Mr Scullion.
"It was about finding a solution to a very complex issue on constitutional recognition," Mr Wyatt told reporters.
"This is not government policy."
He also reaffirmed the government's commitment to establish a National Resting Place in Canberra for ancestral remains that were removed from country and placed in museums, universities and private collections in Australia and overseas for more than 150 years.
"The National Resting Place will be a central place for commemoration, reflection and healing," Mr Wyatt told the breakfast event.
"A place for ancestral remains to rest in honour and peace, where all Australians can celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures."
Australian Associated Press
