Anthony Albanese’s trip to the US firms up October 14 as Indigenous voice to parliament referendum date

Anthony Albanese has accepted a late October visit to the US, making October 14 the most attractive date for the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the unveiling of the official portrait of former prime minister Kevin Rudd at Parliament House.

Anthony Albanese’s late October visit to the United States has left little doubt October 14 is the preferred date for the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum, according to constitutional law expert George Williams.

The Prime Minister now has three likely overseas trips in late October and early to mid-November, making that period too crowded for a referendum.

He is expected to be in Australia between September 11 (after the G20 on September 9-10) and his visit to the White House on October 23, which would allow a short four to five-week campaign.

During that time there is just one parliamentary sitting week from September 11-14 and then four weeks of a break, which would give the Yes campaign clear air to prosecute its case.

“Everything has already pointed to the 14th (of October) but this leaves little doubt it is the preferred date,” Professor Williams, from the University of New South Wales, said of Mr Albanese’s official visit to the US announced on Thursday.

“You can’t imagine he’d leave the country during the campaign and it was already the preferred date because of the footy grand finals and parliament not sitting. This may well be timed for after the referendum.”

The Coalition has used the sitting fortnight to pepper the government with questions over the voice, treaty and Uluru Statement from the Heart in a parliamentary tactic designed to stoke confusion over the referendum while demanding detail over what Labor is putting forward.

Professor Williams said October 14 was ideal for Mr Albanese to go to the polls because of the four-week parliamentary break in the lead up.

The Prime Minister has also previously said he wants to hold the referendum before the wet season, which begins in November.

“What it (parliament sitting) does is focuses the debate at a high political level. It means the debate is focused on conflict between the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader and it’s focused on our political parties and it’s very hard to cut through with a message about how this might improve lives or relate to local communities,” Professor Williams said.

“The latter favours the Yes case, the former favours the No case. The more people see our politicians fighting about this the more likely they’d be turned (against it).”

The Coalition has unleashed fresh attacks on the PM over the voice, treaty and Uluru Statement.

The Coalition asked Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney if the Albanese government would negotiate a treaty in this term but did not not pursue questions on Thursday over whether the Uluru Statement from the Heart was actually 26 pages and included comments about invasion, treaty and genocide.

Referendum Council co-chair Mark Leibler rejected these claims, saying he was there when the statement passed and read out for the first time by Indigenous leader Megan Davis in 2017.

“I was in a breakout room next door where there might have been not more than two other non-Indigenous people and we actually saw it on the monitor. What was passed was the one-page Uluru Statement,” he said.

“All this fuss about what is obviously further material clearly this is minutes of meetings incorporated from the various (Uluru) dialogues.

“The minutes that were reproduced contained comments by a number of people included in the over 1000 people who participated in the various dialogues. However what really counts is the conclusion which they ultimately reached. What really counts is what they were prepared to settle for itself.”

US ambassador Kevin Rudd, who was in Parliament House for the unveiling of his portrait, drew parallels between the fearmongering before the national apology he delivered in 2008 and the fears being raised on the voice today.