Australians will vote on Voice after referendum bill passes Senate

The bill was passed 52-19, after a number of emotive speeches both for and against the Voice.

Ultimately, the bill to establish the referendum was supported not just by the Labor government but also by the Liberal-led opposition, although Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is opposed to the Voice itself.

The referendum will ask Australians whether an advisory body for Indigenous Australia should be established in the national constitution.

The body will not have any legislative power nor any veto over laws passed by the parliament.

The next steps will include setting the date for the referendum – which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese could announce as soon as today.

It’s anticipated the vote could happen during October.

Albanese has committed to making the vote a priority of his government’s first term.

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The bill in the Senate went to a rare third reading, during which a number of Senators spoke on the Voice.

Northern Territory Labor Senator Malarndirri McCarthy said a vote for the Voice was also for a “better future”.

“‘Yes’ for First Nations people to be able to make decisions in terms of advising the Parliament and the executive, as to decisions made about them so they can have input into that,” she said.

“In fact, this whole debate, we have seen with research polling across the country that majority of First Nations people want this to happen.”

Shadow Indigenous Affairs Minister Jacinta Price said it was a “dangerous and costly” proposal which would divide Australians.

Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe said the Voice was a “powerless advisory body” that would not advance the cause of Indigenous sovereignty in Australia.