THE referendum to enshrine an Indigenous voice in the constitution is “certainly winnable”, the Prime Minister has said.<\/p>\n
All eligible Australians can cast a ballot on whether an Indigenous advisory body should be included in the constitution after a staggered start to early voting due to public holidays in some states and territories.<\/p>\n
With most surveys including Newspoll and the Resolve Political Monitor showing declining support for the voice, things aren’t looking good for the yes campaign.<\/p>\n
But with just over a week to go until the official polling day on 14 October, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the referendum isn’t over.<\/p>\n
“It is certainly winnable,” he said. “When people have those one-on-one conversations about what the question is… people who are either undecided or soft no voters declare ‘yeah, that’s fair enough.’<\/p>\n
“This is the right thing to do, this is consistent with the Australian principle of a fair go.”<\/p>\n
This comes as former Labor minister and lead singer of rock band Midnight Oil, Peter Garrett, lent his support to the yes campaign.<\/p>\n
One advertisement features Garrett telling people to find out more about the official yes campaign, set to the music of the band’s hit Power and the Passion.<\/p>\n
“Your vote’s totally up to you, but don’t get sucked in by all the bulls*** scare campaigns,” Garrett says. “If you don’t know, find out.”<\/p>\n
However, no proponents including Nationals senator Matt Canavan have said the Government and Australian stars should focus on issues that matter, rather than the voice.<\/p>\n
“The Government only seems to have celebrities arguing for its constitutional change, not arguments,” he said.<\/p>\n
As local pre-polling opened on Monday Member for Bendigo, Lisa Chesters, urgers eligible voters to cast a ballot.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last referendum was in 1999 and no one under the age of 42 has ever voted in a referendum before, that\u2019s why it\u2019s important to remind people get out and vote,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether voting early, voting via the post or voting on referendum day, your vote is powerful and that\u2019s one of the great things about our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n