Former Liberal Prime Ministers Tony Abbott and John Howard are coming out against holding a referendum to acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

A group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous representatives calling themselves the Referendum Council will sent a paper of lawmakers next week, and it's believed it will call for holding a referendum to acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.  There will also be discussions of officially recognizing that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were the first Australians, and possibly stripping the constitution of any racially discriminatory references.

At one point, Mr. Abbott was in favor of holding the referendum next year, but that's changed.  "A treaty is something that two nations make with each other, and obviously Aboriginal people are the first Australians, but in the end we're all Australians together, so I don't support a treaty," Abbott told ABC Radio.

Earlier, Mr. Howard said, "I'm appalled at talk about treaty, that will be so divisive and will fail."  He added, "The Australian public will not be attracted to the idea of a country trying to make a treaty with itself."