More Indigenous Australians than ever now enrolled to vote ahead of Voice referendum

A record number of Indigenous Australians are now enrolled to vote in the lead-up to this year’s referendum on the Voice to Parliament.

More Indigenous Australians are enrolled to vote than ever before as the nation prepares to vote this year on constitutionally enshrining a voice to parliament.

Updated estimates from the Australian Electoral Commission show an additional 21,000 Indigenous Australians enrolled to vote between June and December 2022, bringing the national estimated Indigenous enrolment rate up nearly 3 per cent to a total of 84.5 per cent.

The rapid rise is the largest increase since estimates were first calculated in 2017, and Electoral commissioner Tom Rogers said it was “brilliant”.

“More people are enrolled and ready to vote, which is an unvarnished good news story for electoral participation in Australia and closing the enrolment gap, but we know more needs to be done,” he said.

“What this means is more people are ready to vote when they turn up to a polling place during an election or Referendum.

“The estimated number of ‘unenrolled’ Indigenous Australians has gone under 100,000 for the first time – to just under 87,000 – and that is significant.”

The national Indigenous enrolment is now at its highest level.

It comes as Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says the Liberal Party will reach a decision on the Voice in the “not too distant future” despite saying he still wants more detail from the government.

Mr Dutton once again warned the Voice risked failing at the last hurdle because most Australians did not have the detail required.

“A lot of my colleagues, I think like … 99.99 per cent of Australians, want to see the situation improved for Indigenous Australians, and we want to see reconciliation advanced,” Mr Dutton told ABC Radio.

“But we want to have some assurance that they model they’re talking about at a very lofty level is going to have a positive impact for people on the ground, including in places like Alice Springs.”

The Liberals are the last major party to confirm their position after the Greens on Monday stated they would campaign for a “yes” vote after controversial senator Lidia Thorpe defected from the party.

Senator Thorpe – the former minor party’s spokesperson for Indigenous Australians – left the party on Monday, saying she wanted to be an independent voice for the “blak sovereign movement”.

Leader Adam Bandt said he – and his Greens colleagues – were “sad” Senator Thorpe had not agreed to stay in the party as were many supporters, voters and members.

Lidia Thorpe quit the Greens on Monday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Greens leader Adam Bandt says the party is ‘sad’ to have lost Senator Thorpe. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

He argued that the Greens held many of the same beliefs that Senator Thorpe did, notably that “sovereignty was never ceded in this country”.

“We are going to continue to pursue treaty and truth-telling in this country. That’s our policy that we took to the election, and that’s what we’re going to continue to campaign for, including during this term of this parliament and I think our supporters know that we haven’t changed our position on that, and we’re still going to continue to fight hard for those things,” he told ABC news.

He said the government had made assurances that there would be money in the budget for the process, which had allowed the party the confidence to “unanimously” get behind the yes campaign.

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney welcomed the support of the Greens and made the point on Tuesday morning that it was “extraordinarily clear that the advice we’ve received … (is) that sovereignty is not affected by the establishment of a voice”.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says the party would make a decision on its Voice stance ‘in the not too distant future’. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Mr Dutton said while it was always best to find a bipartisan approach to policy issues, he wouldn’t back down from demanding more detail.

“People want to do the right thing, but they don’t understand what it is the government is proposing,” he said.

“The Prime Minister makes constant reference to the Langton-Calma report, it’s about 272 pages, but he hasn't said that if there is a ‘yes’ vote at the referendum that the report will be implemented.

“Day after day we hear these different thought bubbles from the government. I think what would give people more assurance is if there is a bill that can explain how it’s going to work.”

Anthony Albanese has maintained that matters of detail will be finalised after the referendum.

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney has welcomed Peter Dutton’s engagement in the Referendum Working Group. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Ms Burney said the government welcomed Mr Dutton’s involvement in the Referendum Working Group, saying he had approached it with an “open heart and an open mind”.

“I think it’s very important that we involve Peter Dutton and his party as much as possible,” Ms Burney told ABC Radio.

She also welcomed moderate Liberal Bridget Archer’s commitment to co-chairing a new Friends of Uluru Group, along with independent Allegra Spender and Labor MP Gordon Reid.

She said the “teal” independents would also be invited to attend upcoming meetings of the Referendum Working Group.