Anthony Albanese to announce Indigenous voice to parliament poll date next week

Anthony Albanese is to announce the date for the voice referendum in Adelaide next week.

Ex-Liberal MP Pat Farmer is flanked by Anthony Albanese and Tanya Plibersek at the Sydney Opera House during a run to promote the Yes campaign. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Sam Ruttyn

Anthony Albanese is to announce the date for the voice referendum in Adelaide next week, triggering a six-week campaign and confirming South Australia as a must-win state both camps believe they can conquer.

The Prime Minister will head to Perth on Monday for a meeting of his cabinet ministers, who he wants to consult before kick starting the ­official campaign, and will attend a breakfast event there on Tuesday.

The Australian has confirmed the referendum date – which has been favoured as October 14 for months – won’t be revealed while he’s in Perth but later in the week when he heads to Adelaide.

According to the latest News­poll, the Yes case now leads in only NSW and SA, is tied with the No vote in Victoria and trails in Western Australia, Queensland and Tasmania.

The No campaign is targeting its resources at WA, Queensland, SA and Tasmania, as it needs to win a majority in just three states in order to defeat the referendum.

Announcing the date next week means there will be two parliamentary sitting weeks (from September 4-7 and 11-14) at the front end of the official campaign, unless the government decides to move them.

Government sources said positivity from the Yes campaign was surmounting political conflict over the voice that played out when parliament was in session.

September 11 is the last possible day an October 14 poll can be ­announced. Mr Albanese will travel to Indonesia, The Philippines and India between September 6-10.

Appearing alongside ultra-marathon runner and former Liberal MP Pat Farmer, who is running an average of 80km a day to advocate for the voice, Mr ­Albanese on Tuesday said after a successful referendum people would “wonder why it wasn’t done ­before”.

“Just like the apology to the Stolen Generations, just like Mabo and Wik and native title, people will wonder what the fuss was about, because we will be stronger as a nation when we move forward together,” the Prime Minister said.

“It’s a positive campaign for Yes. And it compares with the No campaign, which is really about everything except for what the question is. They want all these distractions.

“It’s a very clear question. People should read what the question is to recognise First ­Nations people through a voice. The clauses which are there are ­legally sound, they will not interfere with the way that the government operates on a day-to-day basis. Our parliament will still be in total control of its destiny.”

Opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price questioned how Mr Albanese expected Australians to believe the voice wouldn’t interfere with government or be divisive.

“The PM has put forward a referendum that is dividing Australians, but time and again refuses to explain himself,” she said. “Whenever he’s pressed for details or pushed on the consequences of the divisive voice, the PM retreats to his frankly unbelievable lines that this will somehow be ‘modest’ change.

“He’s asking Australians to overhaul our national rule book to divide the nation by race, so I think he owes us a full explanation. Does he really expect us to believe that a constitutionally ­enshrined voice to parliament and executive government will not interfere with government, will not be divisive?

“No one believes him, certainly not the Yes campaign activists pushing the divisive idea.”

Nationals leader David Littleproud said the referendum would be decided by the “sensible centre” as he condemned comments from No campaigners – including Gary Johns – as irrational.

Mr Littleproud, whose party decided to oppose the voice last year, refused to say if Dr Johns should step down from the No campaign but said “there’d be very serious conversations with him today” if he was in the ­Nationals. Dr Johns, a former Labor minister, told the Conservative Political Action Conference on Sunday: “If you want a voice, learn ­English.”