Advertisement

Albanese: Voice referendum is the one and only chance to do the right thing

Anthony Albanese has warned there will be no further opportunity to recognise Indigenous history and achievements in the Constitution.

Anthony Albanese has warned there will be no further opportunity to recognise Indigenous history and achievements in the Constitution. Photo: Getty

There will be no second opportunity to enshrine a Voice in the Constitution, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has warned as polls continue to show the ‘Yes’ case losing ground

The Prime Minister described the coming referendum as a once-in-a-generation opportunity.

“I say to people – including (those) who say, ‘it doesn’t go far enough so therefore I’m going to vote no’ – don’t think that other issues can be advanced by a ‘no’ vote,” he told ABC Insiders.

“A ‘no’ vote will be a vote for more of the same.

“What Australians will have in coming months is the opportunity to write the next chapter … that’s more inclusive, that celebrates the connection that we have of sharing this continent with the oldest continuous culture on earth but also makes practical change to close those gaps.”

Mr Albanese said if the referendum failed it would signal the proposal would not have Australian’s support.

‘Focused on success’

But he wouldn’t confirm whether or not his government would seek to legislate a voice instead.

“I’m focused on success, not on hypotheticals of what will occur if it is not successful,” he said.

“We will take the verdict of the Australian people in a referendum as something that has to be taken into account, of whether they support it or not.”

A new poll showed a majority of Australian voters in every state and territory intended to vote against enshrining an Indigenous voice to parliament in the Constitution.

The ‘no’ vote is running ahead of ‘yes’ at 56 per cent to 44 per cent nationally, the RedBridge poll conducted for News Corp publications found.

RedBridge contacted more than a thousand voters and asked them if they would vote yes or no, if they were undecided or if they wanted to opt out of the survey.

On a jurisdiction basis the no vote was ahead in NSW at 56 per cent against 44 per cent for yes, 55 per cent against 45 per cent in Victoria, 63 per cent against 37 per cent in Queensland, and 54 per cent against 46 per cent in other states and territories, the poll published on Sunday found.

Youth vote backs ‘Yes’

The only income group where the yes vote was ahead of no was households earning more than $200,000 a year, with 51 per cent supporting the voice.

Younger voters were more in favour of the Voice, with 63 per cent of those aged 18-34 intending to vote yes, compared to about 75 per cent of those aged over 65 intending to vote no.

The Prime Minister said constitutional change in Australia had never been easy.

“I’m confident about the generosity of the Australian people,” he said.

“That the Australian people will focus during the weeks leading up to the referendum, will have a look at what is there and weigh up what voting ‘yes’ means, what voting ‘no’ means.”

The referendum is expected to be held in October this year and Mr Albanese will announce the date in the coming weeks.

-with AAP

Advertisement
Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter.
Copyright © 2025 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.