Australians are set to begin casting their ballots on the proposed Indigenous voice.
Early voting opens on Monday in four jurisdictions ahead of the October 14 referendum, which will determine whether an Indigenous voice, which would advise parliament and executive government, will be enshrined in the constitution.
Voters in the Northern Territory, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia will be eligible to vote on Monday.
Early voting will open up to NSW, the ACT, Queensland and South Australia from Tuesday, due to Monday being a public holiday in those states and territories.
Australian electoral commissioner Tom Rogers said voters should plan ahead for where they are going to cast their vote.
Early voting was made available for those unable to cast a ballot on October 14.
“Federal referendums are in-person events just like elections. This is the first time the country is coming together in nearly a quarter of a century to have their say on potential constitutional change,” he said.
“If you can vote on October 14, then that’s what you should do.
“However, if your circumstances might prevent you from doing that, then you need to think about the early voting options available and vote according to your circumstances.”
The electoral commission has already started carrying out voting in remote polling locations across the country in preparation for the referendum.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said a ‘yes’ vote would improve outcomes for Indigenous Australians.
“A vote for ‘no’ is a vote for no change, it’s a vote which says that everything’s going ok at the moment and the truth is that it’s not,” he told ABC Radio on Monday.
“We do need to listen to Indigenous Australians about matters that affect them and if we don’t recognise Indigenous Australians in our constitution now, when will we after 122 years?”
The Indigenous voice referendum will have the largest number of eligible Australians on the electoral roll.
The electoral commission said 97.7 per cent of eligible Australians are enrolled to vote, an increase of more than 447,000 from last year’s federal election.
Indigenous enrolment is also at a record high 94.1 per cent, while 91.4 per cent of Australians aged 18 to 24 are also enrolled.
With less than two weeks before the referendum, the ‘yes’ campaign is behind in the polls.
But Assistant Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said she was still confident of the ‘yes’ campaign’s success.
“Most Australians will still be coming to the polling booth and asking questions,” she told Sky News.
“This is an incredible time in Australia’s history to make the change that I certainly believe will be very good for our country.”
The NT senator said every jurisdiction would be a battleground to get the voice over the line.
In order for the referendum to succeed, a majority of national votes is needed, along with a majority of support in at least four of the six states.
Opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan said there were questions about the voice that remained unanswered.
“It’s unfortunate we’re here, we should have been doing this in a bipartisan way, but the prime minister chose another route, another path,” he said.
“Sadly, we’re going to see the voice go down and all this effort that’s gone into this is going to come to naught.”
13YARN 13 92 76
Aboriginal Counselling Services 0410 539 905
By Andrew Brown in Canberra
