Yes23 expects up to 50k volunteers to campaign on-the-ground for an Indigenous voice to parliament

Yes23 and Fair Australia, the leading Yes and No voice outfits, anticipate up to 50,000 volunteers at polling booths on referendum day.

Anthony Albanese and his cabinet ministers are planning on playing a “supporting role” to Yes23’s voice campaign, but the Prime Minister will be prominent on the referendum hustings. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Yes23 - the leading organisation in support of an Indigenous voice to parliament - is hoping to assemble an army of up to 50,000 on-the-ground volunteers by referendum day, as the Albanese government prepares to deliver a “supporting” political campaign.

While the Prime Minister will inject himself into the centre of the Yes case, The Australian understands there will be no central federal Labor headquarters during the official campaign as there is ahead of an election.

It was unclear whether Mr Albanese’s travel schedule would mirror an election campaign, according to government sources, and ministers were being invited to speak at events rather than ­directing the campaign.

“Since day one, we’ve not wanted it to be ‘Anthony Albanese’s voice’. We can’t be leading this,” a senior government source said.

While there is consternation within Labor’s ranks about how the Yes campaign was being run, with one MP on Thursday saying it was “a bit all over the shop”, Yes23 was hoping its major day of action on Sunday would act as a significant volunteer drive and be seen as a marker for supporters to “go hard” until referendum day.

It’s amassed nearly 12,000 volunteers already but expects to sign up 40,000 to 50,000 people.

In the No camp, more than 150,000 Australians have signed a pledge to “vote No to a divided Australia”. Like Yes23, leading No organisation Fair Australia expects close to 50,000 volunteers on polling booths.

Yes23 is focusing on sausage sizzles, picnics and community forums for campaign events, believing face-to-face conversations are most effective at persuading undecided voters.

Their representatives will steer clear of discussing the mechanics of the voice and instead stress the practical outcomes it could have in areas like health, education and youth justice.

The No camp’s overarching message is the voice will divide Australians, while reflecting “extreme concerns” about the lack of detail and the financial cost of the advisory body during the cost-of-living crisis.

Opponents are attending local community and party events, as well as multicultural forums, and sources said Labor voters were also reaching out asking how they could get involved.

In the two largest No states, Queensland (54 per cent against) and Western Australia (52 per cent), state Labor parties are encouraging members to join Yes23 events or volunteer for the Yes case.

WA Labor is relying on a big contact book that grew exponentially during its successful state election campaign six years ago when it turfed out the Liberal Barnett government.

Opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price continued her campaigning against the voice in Tasmania this week, with an event in Hobart where nearly 200 people attended.

She also attended a campaign event with Liberal MP Gavin Pearce, while Yes23 co-chair ­Rachel Perkins visited Indigenous communities in far north Western Australia.