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While the mayor of Alice Springs may have pleaded for voice campaigners, for and against, to refrain from using his town as a political football, it's a request that's been kicked well and truly into touch.
Visiting the Alice with Northern Territory senator Jacinta Price on Thursday, Opposition leader Peter Dutton took aim at Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney and warned that the central Australian community would be overlooked by the initiative.
However the next step in the political process begins with the first public hearing by the joint select committee on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice referendum in Canberra on Friday.
The inquiry is only looking at the legislation needed for a referendum and will also hold public hearings in Orange on Monday and Cairns on Wednesday.
Committee member, South Australian Liberal senator and Arrernte woman Kerrynne Liddle told AAP she has "strong reservations" about the voice but is looking forward to interrogating the detail in the proposed legislation.
"What the impact of those words are, because in the constitution, as in legislation, words matter," she said.
The inquiry is expected to hear from constitutional law experts and other academics.
"I want to understand it from a range of experts," Senator Liddle said.
"Because ultimately, it's the Australian people that will actually decide and it's the 96 per cent of the Australian population that is not Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander that will be determining what will happen."
To do so, they will need to have "the very best information that they can possibly have", she said.
"This is a really important decision from them and if they vote because they feel like they should because they're on the right side of history, or they feel guilty about voting any other way, then that will be a real disappointment to everyone."
Meanwhile, Alice Springs mayor Matt Paterson says the community needs help, regardless of the refrendum outcome.
"My fear is if people are linking (the town's plight) with the voice, as soon as the referendum is over they're going to forget about Alice Springs," Mr Paterson said on Thursday.
"We're asking for help because we need a change and we're going to need to change a lot longer than when the referendum is held later this year."
