In my recent chat with Cam on Reality Check Radio, I mooted the possibility that the “Indigenous Voice” referendum may be called off. After all, Anthony Albanese hasn’t announced an actual date. Under electoral law, the referendum isn’t locked in until a date is announced. Albanese keeps delaying a date announcement, making only vague commitments to “later in the year”.
Let’s be clear, here: I wouldn’t bet good money on it being called off, but I’m certainly not the only person who senses it may not yet happen.
Voice co-architect and senior Australian of the Year Tom Calma says the referendum must be held this year and a delay will not change the will of the people, as Anthony Albanese is told to “go the course” by Yes advocates.
Liberal for Yes co-convener Sean Gordon also rejected the suggestion the referendum be pulled because of a fear of failure or that the country may look bad in the eyes of the rest of the world.
The Australian
Now, why would they be even thinking it?
The Indigenous Voice to parliament is headed towards a referendum defeat, with most NSW voters supporting the No campaign for the first time and just 31 per cent of Australians expecting the Yes vote to succeed.
The move of NSW into the No camp – alongside Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia – underscores its status as a crucial swing state that will help decide the fate of the referendum.
The findings are the latest in a string of polls that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has conceded are trending down just as the Yes and No campaigns ramp up, prompting even prominent Voice supporter and Liberal MP Andrew Bragg to call for the vote to be delayed […]
The only other state in which the Voice enjoys majority support is Tasmania, on 54 per cent, though the sample size was small.
On the other hand, recent polls by Newspoll and Roy Morgan have Tasmania voting No, as well. Even in Wokeistan, Victoria, support is sliding dramatically: from 56% to 52% in just a month. In regional areas, the polling is even more dire for the Yes campaign.
At this point, the referendum is fast headed the same way as the Republic referendum in 1999: defeat at a national majority, and defeated in every state and territory, bar Canberra.
I’m not the only one thinking so.
One of the No campaign leaders, Nyunggai Warren Mundine, said the Yes campaign had treated Australians like mugs and insulted them by suggesting a vote for No was racist.
“I always thought this would be like the republic referendum. It will lose every state and the national vote. It will be a complete loss for the Yes campaign,” he said.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Even the dimmest of bulbs, over at the Grauniad, are slowly switching on.
The voice referendum debate is not going well for the yes campaign […]
On 2GB, Albanese described himself as a “pragmatic guy”. One wonders how poor polls would have to get before the more pragmatic thing to do would be to cancel the referendum.
Noel Pearson has warned that a no vote would mean reconciliation is “dead”.
The Guardian
When will these clowns learn that threatening us with a good time isn’t helping their case? Just like Marcia Langton, warning that we’ll never hear another Welcome to Country if the referendum loses? To many Australians that sounded like the best of promises.
