Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is not deterred by polling that shows support for a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous voice has dropped below 50 per cent in every state.

He brushed off suggestions a ‘yes’ vote at the referendum was in trouble, saying there was a long way to go before Australians cast their ballots. 

“We have a range of (no) campaigns designed to create confusion, really, in the community,” he told ABC Radio on Monday. 

“There is nothing to fear from this process and everything to gain.”

The ‘yes’ case hasn’t secured an absolute majority in any state, a Newspoll demographic analysis published by The Australian on Monday suggested.

It found those most likely to support the Indigenous advisory body were higher-income earners, the university-educated, renters and the young.

Those opposed to the voice included voters with no tertiary education, retirees, mortgagees and people who owned their home outright.

While the race was still close, a referendum based on current attitudes would fail to meet the threshold for success.

Opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price said the polling reflected people’s wishes for more information about the voice. 

“There are a lot more Indigenous Australians out there who don’t feel like they’ve been represented through the Uluru Statement from the Heart,” she said.

But former Nationals MP Andrew Gee, who quit the party due to its opposition to the voice, said large groups of voters were being alienated as a result of the coalition’s position.

“I think the voice will succeed, I think we will get it over the line, but if it does not there will be a real emptiness about what has happened,” he said. 

“I think it’s a very short-sighted attitude (for the coalition) to take and I think longer term when the history books are written, history will judge them very poorly for it.”

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney said she felt a momentum in favour of the voice that was not reflected in the polls. 

“Every day there is someone significant coming out supporting the ‘yes’ campaign … everywhere I go, I feel that momentum,” she said.

Ms Burney said the opposition was trying to muddy the waters with questions about things the voice would not be about. 

She said the debate was taking a toll on Indigenous Australians, particularly young people.

“(The voice) will make a practical difference to the lives of Aboriginal people … that is why it is worth going forward with this referendum,” she said.

“I’ve been involved in Aboriginal politics for 44 years and I have seen many, many things and I can tell you that this chance at constitutional reform is our shot in the locker that’s going to make a difference.” 

The referendum is due to be held in the last quarter of the year and the prime minister will announce the date in coming weeks.

By Maeve Bannister in Canberra