Polls show Australia Indigenous referendum support slipping

7:32 pm on 25 September 2023

By Renju Jose

A woman walks past posters advocating for an Aboriginal voice and treaty ahead of an upcoming referendum, in Melbourne on August 30, 2023. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Australia will hold a historic Indigenous rights referendum on October 14 setting up a defining moment in the nation's relationship with its Aboriginal minority. (Photo by William WEST / AFP)

Opinion polls have shown a sharp swing to the no campaign Photo: WILLIAM WEST

Support for a referendum to constitutionally recognise Australia's Indigenous people slipped further, with the landmark proposal set to fail in a national vote roughly three weeks away, two opinion polls showed on Monday.

Support for a "Voice to Parliament", an Indigenous committee to advise parliament on matters affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people, fell to 33 percent, down 15 points since May, the Australian Financial Review (AFR)/Freshwater poll showed. The 'No' vote had reached 50 percent.

Despite the Anthony Albanese-led Labor government's campaign drive to win undecided voters, opposition to the referendum rose three points to 56 percent, a Newspoll conducted for The Australian newspaper showed. Support dipped to 36 percent from 38 percent in the previous poll on 3 September.

Altering the constitution requires a national referendum in Australia and only eight have passed since 1901 when the country was formed. The proposal must get a majority of votes nationwide and at least four of the six states must back the change.

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 12: The Water is Life Gathering at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy outside Old Parliament House on February 12, 2019 in Canberra, Australia. It is the first parliamentary sitting day for 2019. The Gathering is taking place as the Murray-Darling Basin crises takes centre stage at parliament.
(Photo by Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images)

The proposed changes to the constitution would give Australia's indigenous peoples a way of debating future legislation. Photo: Getty

Australia, which will hold the referendum vote on 14 October, has no treaty with its Indigenous people, who make up about 3.2 percent of its 26m population. They were marginalised by British colonial rulers and are not mentioned in the 122-year-old constitution.

The referendum debate has divided opinions with supporters arguing the Voice will bring progress for the Aboriginal community, while opponents say it would be divisive. Others have described it as tokenism and toothless.

Voters who had switched their stance to reject the proposal in the past five months said the Voice was creating distraction from their top two issues - the cost of living and the cost of housing, the AFR survey said.

It also showed approval ratings for Albanese, who has staked significant political capital on the referendum, fell 5 points to 46 percent.

In the Newspoll survey, Albanese's ratings improved slightly to 47 percent though that remained at historically low levels, while on a two-party preferred basis, Labor enjoyed a 54-46 percent lead against the conservative opposition coalition.

- This article was first published byReuters