Albanese uses Labor national conference to supercharge Voice referendum Yes campaign
Anthony Albanese has called on Labor members to campaign like they’ve “never campaigned before” in a bid to get the Voice Yes vote over the line.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called on Labor true believers to campaign like they’ve “never campaigned before” in a bid to supercharge the Yes campaign ahead of the impending Voice referendum.
Mr Albanese and his government has used the last day of Labor’s national conference held in Brisbane to mobilise the party’s base ahead of an anticipated mid-October referendum, with the union campaign machines expected to back in the Yes23 movement.
Published polls have consistently showed slipping support for the Voice, with the no vote particularly strong in Queensland.
Mr Albanese, addressing the party faithful, said “no one pretends winning a referendum is straightforward”.
“But just as the Uluru statement from the Heart places such emphasis on leaving base camp, we joined the Labor Party to scale the peaks.
“This is not a journey that began with us, but it is a journey we have been given the great privilege of joining.
“And a part of that privilege is a responsibility to make sure that all Australians hear the words that the authors of the Uluru statement wrote that we invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.”
Mr Albanese said attempting to change the country “for the better in way that outlasts all of us is a bold undertaking”.
“But we take on these things because that has always been the Labor way. We take them on not because they’re convenient, but out of conviction,” he said.
Australians, in the first referendum in 24 years, will vote on whether or not they support formally recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first inhabitants of the nation and putting in place a constitutionally-enshrined Voice.
If established, the Voice will be an advisory body to parliament and the federal government, providing input on policy matters affecting First Nations peoples — including health, education, and economic disadvantage.
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