Nat Barr unleashes at Peter Dutton on Sunrise as his previous comment on the show comes back to haunt him

Sunrise host Nat Barr has clashed with Peter Dutton in a fiery television interview after he abandoned plans to hold a second Indigenous Voice To Parliament referendum.

Weeks earlier, the federal opposition leader appeared on the program, vowing to hold a referendum to recognise Indigenous Australians in the constitution if elected in 2025, even if the Voice was defeated in Saturday’s referendum.

He said it was the right and respectful thing to do to acknowledge the nation’s history and Indigenous Australians.

Dutton has since backflipped on that promise after an emphatic No result, claiming that Aussies are over referendums and are in no rush to return to the polls.

His previous comments came back to haunt him when he appeared on Sunrise on Tuesday to take aim at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese before Barr called Dutton out on his hypocrisy.

The Voice referendum ended in disaster for the Prime Minister and Yes camp. Pictured are supporters reacting to the loss

‘There will be a lot of Indigenous leaders pretty unhappy with the Prime Minister, who says one thing in one room and then walks into the next room and says completely opposite,’ Dutton said.

Barr was quick to call out Dutton’s hypocrisy. 

‘But that’s exactly what you are doing,’ Barr fumed.

Dutton interrupted ‘It’s just not Nat’ before Barr unleashed.

‘You are!  You said to me on this program a month ago, we are going to hold a referendum and  now you are not, you have flipped on it. Whether people agree with you or not is another point. You said that you were going to do it if you got in?’

Dutton insists the Coalition’s policy remains the same but that the Prime Minister called for the referendum without support from both sides.

‘This is the policy if you look at the detail that we went to the last election with,’ he argued.

‘There’s nothing new or tricky here. The fact is you should not go to a referendum unless you have bipartisan support.’

Barr also reminded Dutton on his previous commitment made on the program in September.

‘I said ‘$400 million to spend again after this referendum sounds a bit strange,’ she recalled 

‘And you said ”yeah yeah it’s the right thing to do. Why is it not the right thing to do now?’

Nat Barr (left) clashed with opposition leader Peter Dutton (right) on a fiery interview

Dutton reiterated the Coalition’s policy of working towards better outcomes for Indigenous Australians.

‘It remains our policy but as I’ve said and as John Howard and Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison have said, you can’t go to a referendum unless you think you are going to win it and this was a huge mistake that the Prime Minister made that ended up humiliating and dividing the nation. 

‘ I think it made a statement that I don’t think Australians are wanting to rush back to the polls for a referendum.’

Dutton was also grilled by Barr’s co-host Matt Shirvington.

‘The prime minister said that ‘you are so negative, you are even opposing yourself right now. You are all trailer and no movie,’ Shirvington began.

‘He also said when you made a promise to Indigenous people in particular, that you should fulfil it.’ Do you agree?’

Dutton agreed but pointed out that Mr Albanese committed to the Statement of Uluru in full on 34 occasions.

‘That means not just a Voice, it means a treaty, truth telling and a makarrata,’ he said.

‘The government committed something like $26 million already to this process, they’ve spent about $900,000 already in addition to the $450 million that he spent on the referendum, which has been a disaster.’

Dutton described Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s referendum as a disaster. Pictured is the PM addressing the nation on Saturday night

Mr Dutton added he wouldn’t go to another referendum without refusing to explain or engage with Australians. Nor would he not seeking bipartisanship. 

‘Australians have paid a big price because he has divided our country and the task for us now is to get back to basics, to make sure the money is being spent where it is supposed to be spent in Indigenous communities, not on bureaucrats,’ Dutton said

‘Australians are working harder than ever for their money, they are paying tax dollars and they want them to be spent wisely.’

Barr and Shirvo continued their discussion after the interview ended.

‘I agree that’s exactly what people want, they want the politicians to get back to work and it was a resounding no but I also think if they say something it would be good if they just followed through,’ Barr said

Shirvo added: ‘Eighty per cent of Indigenous people wanted recognition in the Constitution at that point. It was then going beyond that.’

‘Interesting to see politicians backtracking at the moment.’

Yes campaigners Thomas Mayo and Dean Parkin were shattered with the referendum result