Tony Abbott has been told he is "on the wrong side of history" by an Indigenous Voice to Parliament supporter after voting 'No' in the referendum.
The incident occurred after the former prime minister cast his ballot at an early voting centre in Penrith, west of Sydney, on Friday.
"Always on the wrong side of history Tony, always on the wrong side of mate," a man wearing a "Vote Yes" T-shirt said to Abbott.
"Wrong side of history again, Tony," he continued.
Abbott did not respond, but a man who appeared to be a part of his entourage replied: "Come up with a better cliche mate, that one's really tired".
Earlier as he arrived at the voting centre — outside of which he spoke alongside prominent No campaigner Warren Mundine — what appeared to be the same Yes campaigner attempted to hand him a pamphlet and said the Voice to Parliament was "just an advisory body".
"A very powerful one", Abbott replied.
"I don't know what you're so worried about guys," the man said to Abbott and the 'No' campaigners with him.
Abbott told reporters the Voice to Parliament referendum mattered "even more than an election".
"You can change a bad government, you can change a bad law, but if you make a big mistake with the constitution you're stuck with it almost forever," Abbott said.
Mundine insisted the Voice was "based on a lie" — repeating — and that Aboriginal people "do have a voice".
"We do have a Voice, and we've had a Voice for a long time", he said.
Research conducted by the Referendum Working Group in January .
The proposed Voice to Parliament would be an advisory body, providing non-binding input to parliament and executive government on issues particularly impacting Indigenous people.
Also on Friday, former High Court chief justice Robert French told the National Press Club that the powers of any voice to parliament in the constitution can be limited by Australian legislation and lawmakers will remain supreme.
The third clause of the amendment means the body cannot overpower parliamentarians, French said
The clause says "the parliament shall, subject to this constitution, have power to make laws with respect to matters relating to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice".
This means lawmakers will be able to decide who makes representations and how they are made, French said.
- With AAP.
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