The Fyles Labor Government has moved a motion in Parliament to support the proposed Indigenous Voice to federal Parliament, in an attempt to wedge the Opposition CLP who say they will be abstaining from the vote despite reports of party members calling for the party to oppose the Voice.

The CLP was forced on Thursday morning to issue a statement clarifying its position, or non-position, after Sky News reported that three of the party’s branches had called for the Voice to be opposed.

“The CLP Opposition believes very strongly that a Voice to Parliament is not for politicians to decide but for the people,” the statement said.

“This is not a decision for any parliament. It is for the Australian people and that is why later this year every single Territorian, including us, will have one vote.

“The CLP Opposition’s position remains the same as it always has been, which is that we are open to the benefits a Voice can bring to Territorians. We do not oppose a voice and, as a result, we will be abstaining from a vote on this motion and look forward to voting in the referendum later this year, along with every other Territorian.”

CLP Senator Jacinta Price has been an active figure campaigning against the Voice to Parliament and successfully convinced the Nationals, the party she sits with in Canberra, to oppose the Voice.

She told the ABC last week that she expected the CLP would oppose it.

However, Leader Lia Finocchiaro said that the CLP remains “open” about the Voice.

“We want the Federal Government to come to the Territory and sit down with Territorians and explain what the Voice is and how it will make our lives better – to date, there has been no engagement with people living in our communities,” the party’s statement said.

“We want every Territorian to be fully informed on what the advantages and disadvantages of the Voice are before they vote in the referendum later this year.”

Sky News reported that three CLP branches – Darwin, Alice Springs and rural branches – had asked the party to oppose the Voice, in part because they say the Voice “will not fix Aboriginal people’s health issues, poverty issues, housing and alcohol issues”; that it there are enough “corporations, regional councils and land councils” for Aboriginal people to raise issues and concerns that it has a “potential impact on the supremacy of our democratically selected parliament”.

During debate on the NT Parliament’s support for the Voice, independent Indigenous MLA Yingiya Guyula said he too wanted more information from the Federal Government about the proposal and how it would work.

He said Indigenous people understand what a Treaty is and how that would function, “but we do not know what the Voice is and how it fits in this space and the process”.

“So, lots more work needs to be done to include First Nations people in this process,” he said. “I believe that the Voice to Parliament by itself is not enough.”

Labor members also spoke about their support for the Voice and that it would improve outcomes for Aboriginal Territorians, with Deputy Chief Minister Nicole Manison calling on the CLP to “be on the right side of history” by not abstaining from the vote in Parliament.

Independent MLA Robyn Lambley said Labor was playing politics with their motion to “force” other politicians’ hands on whether they support the Voice.

“I don’t want this to be shoved down my throat from a couple of mindless politicians on the other side, I want to take time to talk to people about what they think,” she said.

“I will not be preached to by a government that has failed Indigenous people in recent times. Isn’t this a race-based policy?”

Later in the debate, Chief Minister Natasha Fyles criticised Ms Finocchiaro for not addressing the issue and said she “could not sit on the fence” as a political leader.

The motion passed 15-0.