Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he feels “confident” about the Voice to Parliament despite the Yes campaign suffering a massive blow just days out from the referendum.
As Australians gear up to head to the polling booth on Saturday, support for the proposed constitutional change dropped two points to its lowest level at 34 per cent, in a Newspoll conducted for The Australian.
The polling also unveiled a concerning trend for Mr Albanese, with both young voters abandoning the Yes camp as well as Labor’s primary vote dropping to levels not seen since before the 2022 federal election.
But while the latest figures suggest the Voice is headed for defeat, the Prime Minister has remained hopeful, saying “there’s nothing to fear here but everything to gain”.
Speaking to FIVEaa Adelaide, he reiterated why Australians should support the Voice and said “we can turn that around” when pressed on the latest polling.
“I am confident that if people actually look at what the question is, the constitutional change which is proposed, it’s a very modest change,” Mr Albanese said.
“And I am really hopeful that Australians, when they examine it, will think with their heart, yes, but also with their head.
“For 122 years, we’ve done things either to or for Indigenous Australians, often with the best of intentions, sometimes not… but the truth is we’re failing, the system is failing.
“We need to try something better.”
The Prime Minister touched down in the battleground state of South Australia over the weekend in a last ditch plea to swing over votes.
He had earlier spent a few days in the New South Wales town of Broken Hill before he made his way to Port Lincoln in Adelaide on Tuesday to visit the grain export terminal.
Mr Albanese said he was pleased to see a lot of people helping the Yes campaign in Broken Hill, telling the radio station’s host “it was very positive”.
Pre-polling centres have opened up across the country with many Australians eager to cast their vote early.
The referendum needs the backing of at least four states to be successful, with South Australia and Tasmania both considered crucial to the final outcome.
The Prime Minister visited Tasmania last week, where he and Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney urged voters to get behind the proposal.
“This should be above politics. This isn’t a radical proposal… it’s a mainstream proposal. I sincerely hope that Australians vote Yes,” Mr Albanese said.
He then held a cabinet meeting in Hobart where all his ministers met in a push to see the Yes vote succeed – which coincided with his visit to Adelaide a week prior.
(SKY NEWS)
