Voice civics campaign launched as debate gets underway in parliament

As parliamentarians prepare to debate the cornerstone Voice bill, a new civics campaign gets underway.

A civics campaign designed to ready Australians for a conversation about the Voice to parliament referendum has officially been launched.

With Australians gearing up to head to the polls between October and December, Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney said the campaign, which will rollout television and radio commercials in a number of languages, will be neutral and informative.

The neutral civics campaign is part of a million dollar broader education program, aimed at answering lingering questions about the referendum and the proposed question.

Ms Burney said the government was committed to giving all Australians “everything they need to make an informed decision”.

“All Australians need to be well-informed with access to a trusted source of information as they consider the proposal to change the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia through a referendum,” she said.

New Voice to parliament information campaign ads launched today @FinancialReviewpic.twitter.com/mYccXkwEtp

— Tom McIlroy (@TomMcIlroy) May 21, 2023

“I welcome the launch of this information campaign which will reach audiences of every background and is as a key step in preparing the country for this national conversation before voting day.”

The launch of the campaign comes as parliamentarians prepare to have their say on the floor of the chamber when debate begins on the Constitutional Alteration Bill on Monday.

Against a backdrop of waning popular support, Leader of the House, Tony Burke, said any MP who wants to speak to the Bill will be able to do so this week.

“Now the nature of the referendum is it’s a debate that you can’t cut short, so anyone who wants to speak you. need to ensure that they can,” he told Sky News on Sunday.

“And the procedures are a bit different with a referendum. You end up with … every single person gets their name recorded as to which way they vote.

“So that final part of the process we won’t get through til next week, but this week we’ll be making sure that everybody who wants to have their say on the referendum proposal gets a chance to do that.”

Originally published as Voice civics campaign launched as debate gets underway in parliament