Senator Lidia Thorpe meets Indigenous leaders in a visit to outback NSW over Voice to Parliament

Ms Thorpe, an Aboriginal woman from Victoria, resigned from the Greens Party in February after refusing to support her party's and Labor's Yes stance on the Voice claiming the move is "a voiceless voice" the way it is being proposed.

The senator insisted the Voice proposal won't make a difference on broader issues facing Indigenous Australians unless the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and the Bringing Them Home Report on the Stolen Generations are implemented ahead of a "rushed" Voice referendum.

"[The voice as proposed] is an advisory body and is condescending to put it in the constitution ... Any constitutional change should be about giving power to the people, the Voice doesn't talk about sharing power and sovereignty to the Indigenous people," she said.

"They need to show good faith and have an opportunity through the budget to put some money into implementing the recommendations in stopping Aboriginal people from dying in custody as a matter of urgency.

"But they're not prepared to implement that, they would rather wait around for a voiceless Voice to parliament with no power to recommend that the government implement the recommendations in the reports."

In her meeting with many Indigenous communities in the far west and other states, Ms Thorpe said she agreed with the feedback she received that the Voice as proposed is "being rushed and that doesn't fall in line with the referendum consent with many clans and First Nations people if they agree or not."

"They believed they were being left out in the conversations, not being invited by the media in this process which undermines our self-determination as Indigenous people in this country," she said.

Ms Thorpe said she accepted the invitation of the Indigenous Aboriginal Party (IAP) leaders in consultation at Mutawintji National Park to discuss their concerns over the Voice as an independent senator after resigning from the Greens.

"It's great that we have the IAP as a grassroots political party that represents clans and nations instead of being with the major parties that are signing them on dirty deals," Ms Thorpe said.

Ms Thorpe said she has been discussing with Indigenous communities on having Indigenous people elected as independent members of parliament from electorates designated as First Nations communities which was similar to the model of the New Zealand parliament.

"We need to have a grassroots collective voice like the IAP that represents their people," Ms Thorpe said.

IAP leader Owen Whyman, of Wilcannia, said they discussed with the senator the residents' concerns on the proposed Voice referendum, including the moves by Local Aboriginal Land Councils selling off the land without consulting members, and environmental issues and water issues concerning the Darling River.

Ms Thorpe's visit coincided with a survey the IAP is conducting among residents in the outback towns asking their views on the Voice.

As the only federally-registered Indigenous political party in Australia boosting more than 3,000 members across the country, Mr Whyman, a Barkindji man, said, "We are well placed to provide a picture to Senator Thorpe of both the concerns and the celebrations of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians on Indigenous issues that affect all of us."

Mr Whyman said they invited Ms Thorpe to Mutawintji for the talks because it was a significant place for the Indigenous people in the outback towns of the state.

"It was poignant to meet at Mutawintji as some of the families [who met with Ms Thorpe] were involved in a blockade which resulted in the first-ever total handover of a national park in NSW to traditional owners, the Barkindji people," Mr Whyman said.

The lease agreement incorporated under the existing National Parks and Wildlife Amendment Act of 1996, more known as the first Aboriginal ownership legislation in NSW, was enacted in 1998.

Mr Whyman said the senator assured them she supported the IAP's policy on "local solutions for local issues".

"I know very well the issues and problems we have in my hometown, Wilcannia, but I don't pretend to know what impacts other Indigenous Australians, although, there are many things we all have in common right now," Mr Whyman said.

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Wiipatja man, Warlpa Thompson, chairperson of the Mutawintji National Park Board of Management, said,"It was good to see and chat with a politician who had made the efforts to come out of her office out to far west NSW to talk to us, not as a public relations opportunity or response to a crisis, but just to have a yarn."

Barkindji men, Jaharlyn Mitchell and Reannan Whyman, came from Dareton where the Darling River they call 'Baaka" meets the Murray River with their children to meet Ms Thorpe.

Both men are IAP members and engage with various community groups to prevent suicides among Indigenous young people in the far west.

"Lidia says she is a firm believer in coming onto country to talk to the mob, and that is exactly what she did, we thank her for taking the time to come and visit us," Mr Thompson said.