Anthony Albanese reveals deepening Indigenous voice to parliament frustration during clash with 2GB Radio host Ben Fordham

Anthony Albanese has publicly revealed what is clearly a deepening personal frustration over where the voice referendum is heading.

In an interview with 2GB radio host Ben Fordham Wednesday morning the Prime Minister allowed himself to become audibly vexed and abrasive by the questioning.

At one point he accused the host of reading off the no pamphlet before denying he had levelled such a charge, triggering an on-air squabble.

It wasn’t all his fault. He was talked over and goaded.

But this was not the demeanour that the nation’s leader will have wanted to present in prosecuting the argument for the yes case.

Particularly to an audience such as Fordham’s, which is one the yes campaign needs to reach. It is this demographic likely to possess the deepest antipathy.

But Albanese’s stoush with Fordham reflected the exasperation that he clearly feels over the no campaign’s ability so far to steer the debate.

He even conceded that the polls were an accurate portrayal of where public support was.

This follows his call on Monday for the yes campaign to lift its game and present a stronger case.

The Prime Minister needed to take control of the issue. This interview was an attempt to do so.

He sought to clearly set out the case for the referendum but got bogged down over trivialities before being led down the road of treaty, compensation and reparations. All of which he denied were on the table or even relevant to the voice.

The Prime Minister was at least emphatic about what the government would and would not entertain when it came to the range of advice that may come from the voice.

There will be no change to Australia Day, even if the voice decided it wanted it on the agenda.

And it won’t be giving advice to the Reserve Bank of Australia. As he pointed out, even he can’t do that as prime minister. As much as he may like to.

In doing so he was adamant that Labor would ignore the advice of the voice if it chose to.

Albanese maintains that once people read the question that they will be asked at the referendum then consider the material in the Yes and No pamphlets, people will come down in favour of constitutional change.

This relies on a majority of people reading the material, which many may not.

In the absence of that, it will be interviews like the Fordham one that people will be listening to when considering the question to be asked of them.