Australians will go to the polls to vote Yes or No to the Indigenous Voice to parliament on October 14.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed the date of the long-mooted referendum in Adelaide this morning at the Yes campaign launch.
A first-term referendum on constitutional recognition of Indigenous people and an advisory Voice to parliament was a core promise of Albanese’s 2022 election campaign.
The Voice will be an advisory body chosen by Indigenous Australians.
Albanese has repeatedly said it will not have any veto or legislative power, which will continue to reside entirely with parliament.
Enshrining the Voice in the Australian Constitution means it will not be able to be dismissed by a new government, except through another referendum.
The Australian Electoral Commission is in the process of delivering 13 million booklets to households around Australia outlining the official Yes and No campaign positions.
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The case put forward by the Yes team places heavy emphasis on the origins of the Voice in the Uluru Statement from the Heart as something put forward by Indigenous leaders rather than any parliament or political party.
”Vote yes to an idea that comes directly from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people themselves: Constitutional Recognition through a Voice,” the document reads.
It said a yes vote was about “recognition”, “listening” and “better results”.
The No campaign has emphasised the unknowns about the Voice, including its composition and areas of oversight.
Contrary to the Yes camp, the No campaign claims the Voice will prompt waves of legal action and that the body will have a mandate to oversee areas of government such as Defence.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has also said he would not support the Voice.
