‘It’s a disaster’: Natalie Barr grills Anthony Albanese on Voice

Sunrise host Natalie Barr has launched a stinging attack on Anthony Albanese during a fiery interview about the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

Sunrise host Natalie Barr has launched a stinging attack on Anthony Albanese during a fiery interview about the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

Polls suggest there is no route to victory for the Yes campaign in the referendum on Saturday with the No side opening up an unsailable lead.

According to the latest Newspoll, support for the Voice to parliament has fallen further heading into the final week of the campaign.

Just one in three voters are now backing the proposed constitutional change and the bad news for the Yes campaign is that scepticism is even infecting the youth vote.

From Resolve tonight as well. pic.twitter.com/opQKorMtwf

— Kos Samaras (@KosSamaras) October 8, 2023

Barr opened the heated exchange by referencing the latest polls, telling the PM authoratively: “It’s all over for the Yes campaign?”.

But Albanese didn’t agree, replying: “Not at all”.

“We have five days to go which people have the opportunity to examine the opportunity before them,” he said.

“Answering the request from Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander people to be recognised in our Constitution, in our nation’s founding document, and through a non-binding advisory committee, a Voice so that we can listen to Indigenous Australians in order to get better outcomes.

“That is what is on the ballot paper on Saturday, I’m sincerely hoping that when Australians examine what the question is that they will vote Yes too.”

The Sunrise host wasn’t satisfied, insinuating Mr Albanese had run a poor campaign.

“At the start of all this, the polls were good, they were in your favour,” she said.

“They have just crashed over the last couple of months. When you look back – what could you have done better?”

A grim-faced Mr Albanese sidestepped the personal attack, saying he was “focused on Saturday”.

’It’s like you’re on the field and you are hobbled,” she said. Picture: Sunrise

“We know when I stood up and spoke about these issues, that it is hard to get a referendum up in Australia,” he said.

“But if you don’t run in the field, I think I said at the time, than you don’t win the grand final. We’re on the field and we are taking up the request of Indigenous Australians.”

Mr Albanese attributed part of the blame for the flagging campaign on the lack of bipartisan support and Liberal leader Peter Dutton’s opposition to the Voice.

“It is unfortunate that there is not bipartisan support in this referendum, but what we will continue to do is to put the positive argument for Yes, because No equals more of the same,” he said.

But Barr was having none of it, describing the Yes campaign as a “disaster” before adding it was also a disaster for Albanese’s leadership.

“It’s like you are on the field and you’ve hobbled,” she said.

“It is like half the team has been subbed off.

“You stood there on election night and you said you would be hanging your hat on this.”

The PM defended himself telling Barr ‘this is about an idea not an individual’. Picture; Sunrise

A stunned Albanese defended himself, saying: “This is about an idea, not an individual.”

Barr interrupted: ‘But you stood there and one of the first things you and Penny Wong mentioned on election night was this.

Albanese then said he didn’t mention it on election night but admitted to mentioning it “dozens of times beforehand, as did Scott Morrison before the 2019 election, as did John Howard before the 2007 election”.

“This constitutional recognition of our first Australians has been spoken about for about for decades and we are bringing the country together to vote Yes on Saturday,” he said defiantly.

Aussies will head to the poll on Saturday.

The question on the ballot paper is: “A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?”

A successful referendum demands not only a majority of people nationally but also a majority of people in a majority of states (at least four out of six).

Only eight out of 44 referendums have been successful in Australia.

-with Samantha Maiden