Opposition to the Indigenous voice to parliament has now tipped over into the majority. 

A Newspoll, conducted for The Australian, shows ­support for constitutional change has fallen to 38 per cent, while backing for the ‘no’ vote has risen to 53 per cent.

An October 14 referendum will ask Australians if they wish to recognise Indigenous people in the constitution as well as enshrine a proposed advisory body called the voice.

Consecutive polls have shown support for the voice has been sliding.

Success will require a majority of voters and a majority of states voting in favour.

Cabinet minister Tony Burke said he was confident the referendum would succeed.

“(Opposition Leader) Peter Dutton, I think, has underestimated the goodwill of a whole lot of Liberal voters here as well,” he told ABC radio on Monday.

“There’s a generosity in the Australian people and as people come closer to the date, focus their minds, look at the proposal, we see something where there’s nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

Mr Dutton has confirmed he would hold a second referendum solely to enshrine Indigenous recognition into the constitution if the voice fails to pass.

Defending the coalition’s failure to push for constitutional recognition in almost 10 years of government, Mr Dutton said Australia wasn’t previously ready for the issue.

“We’re going to spend about $450 million to pose a question on October 14 that he (Anthony Albanese) knows is going to fail,” he told Nine’s Today.

“I just don’t think he’s going to shift votes unless he gives the detail.”

Nationals leader David Littleproud said the majority of the nation would support constitutional recognition because “our country has grown over those nine years”.

He wants the government to split the question or pull the referendum, saying consultative bodies have failed rural and regional Australia in the past. 

“We live with the scars of that every day. That’s where it failed and that’s where the gap hasn’t been closed,” Mr Littleproud told reporters in Canberra.

“The voice is a step too far because it’s just about more bureaucracy rather than a better one.”

The polling also shows support for the ­coalition has reached its highest level since the federal election last year, with the opposition now leading 37 per cent to Labor’s 35 per cent on primary votes.

Labor leads in two-party terms – 53 per cent to 47 per cent.

By Tess Ikonomou in Canberra