Australians to vote in a referendum on Indigenous Voice to Parliament on October 14

Australians to vote on October 14 on proposed referendum on Indigenous Voice to Parliament, a collection of advocates aimed at giving nation's most disadvantaged ethnic minority more say on policy

Australians will vote on October 14 on a proposed law to create a so-called Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the nation’s first referendum in a generation.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday announced the referendum date, triggering just over six weeks of intensifying campaigning by both sides of the argument.

Explained | Australia’s referendum to include an Indigenous ‘Voice’ in its Constitution

The referendum would enshrine in the Constitution an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, a collection of advocates aimed at giving the nation’s most disadvantaged ethnic minority more say on government policy.

Mr. Albanese urged people to vote “yes” as polls showed more than 80% of Australia's Indigenous population — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples — intended to do so.

“Let’s be very clear about the alternative: because voting ‘no’ leads nowhere. It means nothing changes,” Mr. Albanese told 400 Voice supporters in the city of Adelaide.

“Voting ‘no’ closes the door on this opportunity to move forward. I say today, don’t close the door on constitutional recognition, don’t close the door on listening to communities to get better results. Don’t close the door on an idea that came from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people themselves, and don’t close the door on the next generation of Indigenous Australians. Vote ‘yes,” Mr. Albanese added.