Labor ditches plans for referendum on republic

Labor leader Anthony Albanese has abandoned plans to hold a first-term referendum on whether Australia should become a republic.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese attends St Charbel’s Good Friday liturgy in Punchbowl, joined in the front row by Jenny Morrison, wife of Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: Toby Zerna

Anthony Albanese has quietly ditched plans for Labor to hold a vote in its first term on whether Australia should become a republic – instead focusing its energy on establishing an Indigenous voice to parliament.

A Labor spokesman said if elected, the “voice to parliament” model – ensuring First Nations people have a say on policies and laws affecting their communities – would be the only referendum the party was committed to in its first term in office.

The decision represents a marked break from the previous election, when then-opposition leader Bill Shorten committed $160m for an in-person ballot to determine public support for Australia becoming a republic.

In a statement provided to The Weekend Australian, a Labor spokesman excluded the commitment to holding a national vote in the “first term” of an Albanese government, instead emphasising that the voice to parliament would take constitutional priority.

“Constitutional recognition and a voice to parliament for First Nations people remain Labor’s constitutional reform priority,” the spokesman said.