Documents setting out the Yes and No cases for the Voice referendum will be published online from tomorrow.
Members of parliament from each side of the debate have had four weeks to prepare a clear and concise case for the Australian public as to why they should support or reject the proposed change to the constitution.
Each case must be submitted to the Australian Electoral Commissioner (AEC) by midnight tonight, before being published online tomorrow and shared via AEC social media channels.
Electoral commissioner Tom Rogers said each case will be published in separate, unedited, and unformatted documents, exactly as they have been received.
“Our role here is as a post-box only and this impending raw publication of each authorised case is the first aspect of our independent delivery role.
“We’ll then get to work to complete the Yes/No case pamphlet for printing and create a range of translated and accessible versions.
“Producing alternative versions of each case is a particularly methodical, careful body of work especially noting that some English terms do not have direct translations.”
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The AEC does not “fact-check” the information provided by the Yes and No camps and has issued advice reminding voters to be wary of misleading and untruthful claims as referendum laws do not require or regulate truth in communication or advertising.
A “Stop and Consider” fact sheet published by the AEC urges voters to think critically about the information they receive, particularly if it is highly emotive, or not backed by a credible source.
The Yes/No pamphlet will be distributed to all Australian households prior to the referendum later this year, in a pack that will also contain the question as well as official information.
The question for the referendum will be:
“A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.
“Do you approve this proposed alteration?”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Labor Party have urged Australians to support the Voice, but it has been opposed by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and the Coalition.
It would be a national group of about 20 members who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
This body would be a balanced mix of genders, and include a Youth and Disability Advisory Group.
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