Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is optimistic about the upcoming referendum to recognize the country’s indigenous peoples in the constitution, despite the measure trailing in opinion polls with less than a week to go for the vote. In a recent interview, Albanese shared his positive experiences from his recent travels across the country, from Shepperton to Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Hobart and Adelaide, where he found public sentiment to be overwhelmingly supportive.
The referendum, backed by Albanese’s centre-left Labor government, faces opposition from the Liberal-National Conservatives who are advocating a “no” vote on 14 October. Current polls indicate that the opposition leads the Yes campaign by 53% to 38%.
The “Voice in Parliament” referendum, if passed, would constitutionally recognize indigenous peoples and establish an advisory body for their input on policies that affect them. While most Indigenous people are in favor of the change, some argue that it is a distraction from achieving practical and positive outcomes and would not fully address the issues they face. The political opposition, on the other hand, argues that the measure is divisive, would be ineffective and would slow down the government’s decision-making.
Indigenous Australians, who make up 3.8% of the population, have been marginalized by British colonial rulers and are not mentioned in Australia’s 122-year-old constitution. They face discrimination, shorter life expectancy, lower educational outcomes and high incarceration rates.
In an attempt to rally support for Yes, Albanese recently posted a photo on a social media platform showing him voting in Sydney, in Australia’s most populous state of New South Wales, where the 4.2% of the people identify themselves as indigenous.
Last month, thousands of people gathered in state capitals to support the Yes campaign, which sees the measure as necessary to improve outcomes for the country’s indigenous peoples. The upcoming vote is an important moment in Australia’s history and the outcome could have far-reaching implications for the country’s indigenous population.
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