Paul Starick: The Voice referendum, a key moment for Premier Peter Malinauskas

Paul Starick asks whether the Mali for Canberra case will be enhanced by his role in the Voice referendum, or distract him from other state-based issues.

If the persistent speculation about Peter Malinauskas’s Canberra ambitions has any foundation, the Elizabeth launch of the Voice campaign might just be remembered in years to come as his Barack Obama moment.

Just as Mr Obama’s oratory at the 2004 Democratic National Convention rocketed the telegenic rising young star to prominence, the Premier’s rallying cry at Wednesday’s launch outshone Prime Minister Anthony Albanese – at least according to some commentators.

South Australia’s role as a crucial swing state guarantees Mr Malinauskas a place in the national spotlight during the campaign for the October 14 referendum.

Illinois Senate candidate Barack Obama speaking to delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Boston on July 27, 2004.

This will only fuel the likely overcooked speculation about the Premier eventually switching to federal politics and gunning for the nation’s top job.

It’s critical to remember that he is just 17 months into leading a first-term state government – one which has yet to put substantial policy delivery runs on the board.

The Voice referendum though, will be the first examination of state Labor and Mr Malinauskas’s campaigning ability, since Labor’s 2022 state election landslide victory.

Mr Malinauskas has inserted himself and Labor’s apparatus front and centre into the campaign.

This means the outcome will be telling, not only for the national referendum result, but for the Malinauskas government’s momentum as it approaches the midpoint of the four-year electoral cycle.

Premier Peter Malinauskas is congratulated by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after delivering a speech at the Yes23 campaign launch in Elizabeth. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

Just hours after the tightly controlled Elizabeth launch, Mr Malinauskas rose in state parliament to commit state Labor to pour effort and resources into the Yes campaign.

“I am an enthusiastic supporter of a Yes vote,” Mr Malinauskas told state parliament on Wednesday.

“The South Australian parliamentary Labor Party will be doing everything it possibly can to see to the delivery of a Yes vote.

“And we choose to vote yes as a unified outfit, because we believe that a Voice to Parliament can make a material and practical difference to the lives of Indigenous Australians.”

In an impassioned speech, Mr Malinauskas cited SA’s history of “making big, bold, progressive change”, including the decriminalisation of homosexuality and passing legislation underpinning Aboriginal land rights, insisting “it is within our capacity to say yes to an advisory committee”.

“My simple message to people who are concerned about the status quo is, then, don’t vote for it,” he said.

Rather, he appealed for a yes vote to “ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a seat at the table when decisions are being made that affect their lives”

His rhetoric will rally the Yes23 campaign but will it convince undecided voters or turn around those determined to vote against the Voice? Will they think he should be sticking to state-based issues rather than throwing his party’s weight behind the national Voice, particularly when one has already been legislated for SA?

Premier Peter Malinauskas gets a selfie with Major "Moogy" Sumner and Jakirah Telfer at the Yes23 campaign launch in Elizabeth. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

These are open questions, but the national referendum is just another hefty item on Mr Malinauskas’s increasingly complex agenda.

Thus far, there have been many promises but not much delivery – although it is still relatively early days.

These include vows to merge universities, build a $593m hydrogen power plant at Whyalla, fix the ambulance ramping crisis and roll out universal three-year-old preschool.

Then there’s the business of governing.

Teachers are striking over stalled pay talks.

Finding a new home for police horses has been an overly complicated process set to cost $90m.

The Opposition scored hits with revelations a former Westpac executive was being paid $600 an hour in a part-time job as a strategic adviser to the Premier’s Delivery Unit.

It’s too early in his term to seriously consider whether Mr Malinauskas is destined for even higher office.

A Yes23 campaign success in SA leading to national victory though, would seriously enhance his credentials.

Mr Malinauskas can walk and chew gum at the same time.

But voters will judge him in 2026 on implementing election promises, good governance, growing jobs and the economy.

Originally published as Paul Starick: The Voice referendum, a key moment for Premier Peter Malinauskas