2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum

2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum
A Proposed Law: To alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?
Date	14 October 2023 (2023-10-14)
Results by federal electoral division and state or territory 250px 250px   Yes   No

The 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum was held on 14 October 2023. Voters were asked if they approved an alteration to the Australian Constitution that would recognise Indigenous Australians in the document through prescribing a body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice that "may make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples".

The referendum is expected to be defeated in both the state and national votes, and votes are currently being counted.

The referendum question and proposed alteration were announced on 23 March 2023 by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The referendum will formally decide on the passage of the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) Bill 2023 (Cth), which was tabled in federal parliament on 30 March 2023 by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus. The Bill was passed by the House of Representatives on 31 May 2023 and by the Senate on 19 June 2023. The referendum date was announced by Albanese on 30 August 2023. On 11 September 2023, Governor-General David Hurley formally triggered the holding of the referendum by issuing writs to the Australian Electoral Commission.

Question on the ballot

Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023
Parliament of Australia
A Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice
Territorial extent	Australia
Enacted by	House of Representatives
Date passed	31 May 2023
Enacted by	Senate
Date passed	19 June 2023
Legislative history
Bill published on	30 March 2023
Introduced by	Mark Dreyfus
First reading	30 March 2023
Second reading	30 March 2023 – 31 May 2023
Third reading	31 May 2023
Bill published on	13 June 2023
Introduced by	Murray Watt
First reading	13 June 2023
Second reading	13 June 2023 – 16 June 2023
Third reading	19 June 2023
Summary
Amends the constitution to prescribe an Indigenous Voice to Parliament
Status: Not passed

On 23 March 2023, the Australian Government announced the question on the ballot and the specific words for amendment to the Constitution to be put to the referendum. This proposed question and amendment was considered by the Parliament as part of the parliamentary process to alter the Constitution. The passage of the bill was recommended by the Joint Select Committee on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice Referendum, subject to two dissenting reports authored by Liberal and National party members respectively.The Liberal report put forward several changes, including the deletion of sub-section 128(ii) (to reduce a risk that representations from the body must be considered), a new section 77(iv) (to allow the parliament to control the applicability of judicial review under section 75(v) of the Constitution), the addition of the words "and the legal effect of its representations" to sub-section 128(iii) (to clarify the power Parliament has to legislate regarding the voice) and the replacement of the words "executive government" to "ministers of state" (to reduce the possible ambit of people to whom the Voice may make representations). The National report, on the other hand, rejected the proposed bill entirely.

Referendum ballot papers will ask voters:

A Proposed Law: To alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?

Proposed amendment

The proposed amendment to the Constitution is the insertion of the following chapter:

Chapter IX Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

129 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice

In recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia:

1. There shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice;
2. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples;
3. The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to matters relating to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, including its composition, functions, powers and procedures.

Voting and referendum mechanisms

Double majority

For the amendment to the Constitution to be enacted, it must receive a double majority of votes. This means that for the referendum to succeed, the following must occur:

• more than half of the total national votes must be in favour of the amendment; and
• more than half of the voters in at least four states must vote in favour.

If more than half of the total national votes or more than half of the electors in at least three states vote against the amendment, the referendum will not be successful.

Voters

Australian citizens and some British subjects may take part in Australian elections or referendums. Under Australian law, all eligible voters must submit a vote by an approved means (in-person, by post, or over the phone). It is mandatory for all eligible people to register to vote.

It is mandatory for a person to register onto the Australian Electoral Roll and vote if they are:

• an Australian citizen, either by birth or naturalisation, or are a British subject who was enrolled to vote before 27 January 1984, and
• aged 18 years or older (on the date of the referendum), and
• have lived at an address for more than one month, and
• not subject to an exemption or exclusion.

Exemptions to mandatory voting requirements apply for those that are overseas on the date of the referendum, are posted to an Australian station on Antarctica, or are homeless or have no fixed address. A person serving a prison sentence of longer than three years on the date of the referendum is excluded from voting in federal elections or referendums whilst in custody, but must remain on the Electoral Roll.

Around 79,000 people registered to vote between the day the referendum date was announced and the cut-off date, bringing the total enrolment to 17,676,347, an increase of 2.6% on the 2022 election electoral roll.

Cost

The AEC has estimated the cost of the referendum will be about $450 million, where the federal government had supplied $364 million in the most recent budget to deliver the referendum. Funding for the referendum was provided to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) and National Indigenous Australians Agency in the October 2022 Australian federal budget, with a total distribution of $75.2 million (excluding Contingency Reserves) over two years (FY2022–24).

• $52.6 million for the Australian Electoral Commission to prepare for and deliver the referendum
• $16.1 million for the Australian Electoral Commission to increase the percentage of eligible First Nations people registered to vote
• $6.5 million for the National Indigenous Australians Agency to support preparations for the referendum, including the relevant governance structures

There is an additional $160 million of the federal Contingency Reserve available to deliver the referendum. In May 2023 the government announced a total of A$10.5 million in the 2023 budget to improve mental health services for Indigenous people in the lead-up to the referendum.

Official pamphlet

The government originally attempted to remove the requirement for an official yes/no pamphlet along with other proposed changes to the referendum process in the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill 2022 (Cth), arguing that a physical pamphlet was outdated and that information could instead be distributed online or via televsion. Instead, the government proposed funding an education campaign to inform Australians about the referendum and to "counter misinformation". However, the pamphlet was ultimately retained in order to secure bipartisan support for the bill. Following this, parliamentarians who voted for and against the constitutional amendment bill drafted the pamphlet detailing their Yes and No cases, with each essay approved by a majority of those MPs. This approach has come under scrutiny from organisations such as The Greens, who have wanted these statements to be independently fact-checked, as there is no requirement for the pamphlets to be truthful.

On 18 July 2023, the pamphlets for Yes and No campaigns were published on the AEC website.

On 11 August 2023, referendum pamphlets began to be posted to households.

Key dates

Key dates in relation to the voting process for the referendum are:

• 11 September – Writ issued
• 11 September – Applications for postal voting opens
• 18 September (8pm) – Close of electoral roll
• 25 September – Remote voting commences
• 2 October – Early voting centres open in Northern Territory, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia
• 3 October – Early voting centres open in Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, and South Australia.
• 11 October (6pm) – Applications for postal voting closes
• 14 October – Referendum Day
• 27 October – Last day for receipt of postal votes
• 20 December – Last day for return of writ

Positions

Further information: Endorsements in the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum

Political parties

This table summarises the positions of registered Australian political parties at the federal level. Disagreement between federal party rooms and state-level party branches within the Liberal–National Coalition is discussed below.

Party		Stance	Notes and references
	Animal Justice	Support
	Australian Democrats	Support
	Centre Alliance	Unknown	The party has not openly taken a stance on the issue, but does support the recognition of Indigenous Australians in the Constitution.
	Citizens	Unknown
	Christians	Oppose	"Our aspiration is to nurture a generation of children and youth who step into the future with confidence, hope, and freedom – a vision that should resonate with everyone."
	Dai Le and Frank Carbone Network	Neutral	As of January 2023, Le maintains a neutral position towards the Voice, claiming that it is not a priority for the culturally diverse communities in her electorate.
	Democratic Alliance	Support
	Fusion	Support
	Great Australian	Unknown
	Greens	Support	The party has a preference for truth-telling and treaty processes to occur prior to the Voice but have nonetheless backed the "yes" campaign for the referendum on the Voice. The party's First Nations Network (aka Blak Greens) encouraged members to abstain or vote no, on the basis that the Voice would be a "powerless advisory body".
	Indigenous-Aboriginal	Support
	Katter's Australian	Oppose	Leader Bob Katter (federal MP for the Division of Kennedy) has stated that the Voice to Parliament may not cover important issues faced by Indigenous Australians, instead proposing a designated Indigenous senator. However, he has given his support for a referendum. All three of the party's MPs in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland have requested more information from federal and state governments (similar to the Liberals) and said that they could possibly support the Voice. On 16 February 2023, the party announced on Facebook that its MPs will not support the Voice.
	Labor	Support	Leader Anthony Albanese has given his support and pledged that a referendum would be held. All state and territory Labor leaders support the Voice, however Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has said that although she supports the Voice, she believes it should be explained better.
	Lambie	Support	Having publicly called for more information about the Voice to Parliament in August 2022 and February 2023, party leader Jacqui Lambie expressed support for the Voice in May 2023, and disappointment at opinion polling indicating a decline in public support in August 2023.
	Legalise Cannabis	Unknown	Rachel Payne announced that the Victorian state branch of the party supports a Voice to Parliament in May 2023, but the party has not made its position clear at a federal level.
	Liberal	Oppose	Federal leader Peter Dutton had requested more information before his party decided on a position; however some members have declared their own stances. Federal members of the party's Tasmanian branch were divided on the issue as of 3 January 2023. On 5 April 2023, after a party room meeting, it was announced that the party will oppose the Voice citing constitutional risks. All members of the shadow ministry are bound by this decision but a conscience vote is allowed for backbencher members. The party has proposed an alternative to Labor's initial proposal and does support constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians, however. Since the decision, some members of the party have indicated they will still support a Voice to Parliament despite their party room's position. Moderate backbenchers including Bridget Archer and Andrew Bragg as well as conservative backbencher Russell Broadbent have indicated their support for a Voice. Furthermore, Julian Leeser has resigned from his frontbench position as Shadow Attorney-General to support a Voice.
	Liberal Democratic Party	Oppose
	United Australia Party	Oppose
	National	Oppose	The Nationals at a federal level have stated that they oppose a Voice to Parliament, citing concerns that it would not be inclusive of regional areas.
	One Nation	Oppose	One Nation opposes both a Voice to Parliament and a referendum on the subject.
	Reason	Support
	Shooters, Fishers and Farmers	Unknown
	Socialist Alliance	Support	Socialist Alliance has expressed scepticism that the Voice will serve as anything other than a token gesture towards true reconciliation, and criticised the absence of explicit information about its exact framework. However, they express critical support for the proposal, provided it does not undermine the sovereignty and treaty demands of First Nations in any way.
	Sustainable Australia	Support
	The Local Network	Unknown
	TNL	Support
	Victorian Socialists	Support	Victorian Socialists said in a statement that it encourages its members to vote Yes in the Voice referendum. The party also said that although a victory for the "Yes" side will not represent a major step forward for Indigenous rights, a "No" victory is likely to be a step backwards; as the "No" campaign has gained momentum, "racist elements have come to the fore".
	Voices for the Senate	Unknown
	Western Australia Party	Oppose

Different stances within the Coalition

Nationals leader David Littleproud announced on 28 November 2022 that his party would not support the Voice, with Senator for the Northern Territory Jacinta Price speaking out strongly against it. The decision led to Andrew Gee leaving the party to sit as an independent. The Nationals oppose the Voice on a federal level and in two states (South Australia and Victoria), although the party supports it in New South Wales, and Western Australia.

Federally, the Liberal Party opposes the Voice, with leader Peter Dutton having repeatedly asked for more information before they could make a decision, before deciding on 5 April 2023 to reject the Voice. The Liberals have offered an alternative proposal and do support the constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians. Only backbenchers have been allowed a conscience vote on the issue, while members of the Coalition Shadow Ministry are obliged to oppose the Voice. Despite the Liberal Party's federal position, the party is supportive of the Voice in New South Wales and Tasmania. The Western Australian branch was initially supportive, but changed their position in August 2023. On 3 September, Dutton committed to hold a second referendum on Indigenous recognition if the Voice referendum failed, while also expressing support for his party's election proposal for a series of legislated local bodies (without a national one).

Former Liberal MP, and Indigenous Australians Minister, Ken Wyatt, quit the Liberal Party on 6 April 2023, in response to the Federal Liberal Party's opposition to the Voice. Later, Julian Leeser (the member for Berowra) resigned from the Shadow Cabinet to support the Voice and campaign for an improved wording, although he did not quit the party and still remains in Parliament as a Liberal backbencher.

Since the resignation of Dominic Perrottet (a supporter of the Voice) as leader of the NSW Liberal Party after he led the party to defeat at the 2023 state election, most of the support for the Voice from Liberal members has come from Tasmania or from backbenchers, despite state branches refusing to bind their party or frontbenches by a stance (despite the federal Coalition binding its shadow ministers to oppose the Voice). Of other state Liberal leaders, New South Wales leader Mark Speakman supports the Voice, while Western Australian leader Libby Mettam initially supported the Voice, but then began opposing it due to the state's controversial Aboriginal heritage laws. The Liberals for Yes campaign was launched in 2023 as an attempt to attract support for the Voice from centre-right, liberal conservative individuals.

Similar to New South Wales, the Victorian Liberal Party has allowed its members a conscience vote on the issue. The Victorian branch has not yet declared its stance on the Voice. However, party leader John Pesutto confirmed his personal stance and other members have voiced their personal opinions (see below).

Party		Stance	Notes and references
	Canberra Liberals	Ambiguous	The Canberra Liberals have given its MPs a conscience vote on the issue. The party's leader, Elizabeth Lee, supports the Voice. Mark Parton has announced his support for the Voice, while former opposition leader Jeremy Hanson has announced his opposition to the proposal.
	Country Liberal	Oppose	On 19 February 2023, the Country Liberal Party's rank-and-file voted to oppose the Voice. However, members of the party have differing opinions; the party's sole federal senator, Jacinta Price, opposes the Voice, while the party's leader in the Northern Territory, Lia Finocchiaro, said in mid-March that she supported the Voice in principle, but needed more detail. However, on 22 August, Finocchiaro confirmed that she would be voting "no", saying the government had not given enough information about the Voice and she was concerned that the Voice would not adequately represent Aboriginal Territorians, though she also said that party members were allowed a free vote on the issue and that she would not be campaigning against the Voice.
	Liberal National	Ambiguous	The LNP has not stated a clear position on the Voice. The party's leader in Queensland, David Crisafulli, announced he has an "open mind" on the issue. Crisafulli later announced that he would oppose the Voice, but the LNP would be given a conscience vote on the issue and that he would not be campaigning against it.
	NSW Liberals	Ambiguous	Former New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet (who was Premier and Liberal leader from 2021 to 2023) supports the Voice. The current leader, Mark Speakman, announced that members of the party will be given a free vote on the issue. On 12 August 2023, Speakman announced that he personally supports the Voice, but would not be campaigning for it.
	NSW Nationals	Oppose	The NSW Nationals have opposed the Voice, formally opposing it at their Senior Party Conference in July 2023. However, like the NSW Liberal Party, the NSW Nationals have announced that they will give its members a free vote on the issue.
	SA Liberals	Oppose	The South Australian division opposes the state's version of the Voice to Parliament, but has not yet made a stance on the federal version. David Speirs remains undecided on the Voice, but has stated that the South Australian Liberals will remain neutral and will not campaign for either side. However, Speirs later stated that he and the party would oppose the Voice.
	SA Nationals	Oppose
	Tasmanian Liberals	Support	Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff openly supports the Voice. Rockliff vowed to campaign "vigorously" in favour of the Voice.
	Victorian Liberals	Ambiguous	John Pesutto, the leader of the party’s Victorian division, was initially unclear on the party’s position citing a lack of detail on the proposal. The Victorian Liberals decided in May 2023 to allow members to have a conscience vote on this issue. Only Jess Wilson, the Member for Kew, has publicly confirmed she will vote "yes" in the referendum, while the majority of Victorian Liberal MPs have publicly stated they will vote "no". On 4 September, Pesutto declared that he will be voting "no" in the referendum but would not be campaigning against it.
	Victorian Nationals	Oppose	Peter Walsh, the leader of the Nationals in Victoria, backed the federal Nationals' decision.
	WA Liberals	Oppose	Libby Mettam, the leader of the party's Western Australian division, announced the party's opposition in August 2023. She had previously endorsed the Voice.
	WA Nationals	Oppose	Former leader Mia Davies stated her party's support for the Voice during her time as leader. While current leader Shane Love initially supported the Voice, he later announced that he and the party would oppose the Voice, following a similar decision made earlier by the WA Liberal Party.

Independents

Name		Stance	Notes and references
	Kate Chaney	Support
	Zoe Daniel	Support
	Andrew Gee	Support	Gee defected from the National Party in December 2022, shortly after the party announced its opposition to the Voice, citing a need to support the Voice as a key reason for leaving the party, although party leader David Littleproud mentioned other disagreements that led to the decision.
	Helen Haines	Support
	David Pocock	Support
	Monique Ryan	Support
	Sophie Scamps	Support	Scamps referred to the First Nations Voice to Parliament as a "generous invitation" in her first speech to Parliament in August 2022.
	Allegra Spender	Support
	Zali Steggall	Support
	Lidia Thorpe	Oppose	In August 2022, when still Greens Indigenous affairs spokesperson, Thorpe called for Treaty before Voice. Defecting from the Greens in February 2023, she said that she wished to lead the "Blak sovereignty" movement and campaign for such a treaty before implementation of the Voice, which would be "powerless". In May 2023, she ruled out supporting the No campaign and said she would consider abstaining. On 20 June Thorpe joined the official "No" campaign, after she had voted "No" to the referendum bill in the Senate on 19 June. On 20 July, Thorpe released her own pamphlet advocating against the Voice, criticising both the official "Yes" and "No" pamphlets, and claiming that she had been unfairly excluded from contributing to the official "No" case, which she condemned as racist.
	Kylea Tink	Support
	Andrew Wilkie	Support

Former prime ministers

Prime Minister	Term	Party		Position	Notes and references
Paul Keating	1991–1996		Labor	Support	Paul Keating strongly supported the Voice.
John Howard	1996–2007		Coalition	Oppose	After initially not settling on a position, John Howard stated in an interview with The Australian that the Voice will "create a new cockpit of conflict about how to help Indigenous people".
Kevin Rudd	2007–2010, 2013		Labor	Support	Kevin Rudd supported the Voice to Parliament, stating that Tony Abbott's stance on the issue was "wrong".
Julia Gillard	2010–2013		Labor	Support	Julia Gillard supported the Voice, along with Beyond Blue, which she is currently chairing.
Tony Abbott	2013–2015		Coalition	Oppose	Tony Abbott opposed the Voice.
Malcolm Turnbull	2015–2018		Coalition	Support	In August 2022, Malcolm Turnbull stated that despite his previous concerns, he would vote in favour of Albanese's proposal.
Scott Morrison	2018–2022		Coalition	Oppose	While he was prime minister, Scott Morrison proposed a version of the Voice, but repeatedly ruled out holding a referendum, and vetoed attempts to do so. He stated that the Voice would be a "third chamber" of Parliament.

Campaign

Further information: Endorsements in the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum

Campaigning for both sides of the question started in early 2023. Some of the groups and individuals involved are listed below.

Yes

File:3X2 Voice Yes Southbank Brisbane 17 September 2023 PXL 20230917 010738950.MP.jpg

The Yes campaign held demonstrations around the country. Some 20,000 people attended the Brisbane rally.

• Uphold and Recognise (2015) was founded by lawyer Damien Freeman and Coalition spokesperson on Indigenous Australians, Julian Leeser (who is no longer with the group). It is chaired by Sean Gordon, who is co-convenor of the Liberals for Yes group, and has been a member of the First Nations Referendum Working Group, and includes former Indigenous Australians minister Ken Wyatt as a board member. It follows a centre-right approach.
• The Uluru Dialogue (2017) is a collective which includes creators of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, along with various academics and lawyers based at the University of New South Wales; it is chaired by Megan Davis and Pat Anderson.
• From the Heart (2020) operates under the auspices of Noel Pearson's Cape York Institute in north Queensland.
• Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition is a group of prominent Australians co-chaired by the director of the Business Council of Australia, Danny Gilbert, and Aboriginal filmmaker Rachel Perkins. Board members include Noel Pearson; Tony Nutt, former principal adviser to prime minister John Howard; and author and Maritime Union of Australia official Thomas Mayo. This group runs the "Yes23" campaign.
• Parliamentary friends of the Uluru Statement (launched on 13 February 2023) is a non-partisan group co-chaired by Labor's Gordon Reid; Liberal Bridget Archer; and Independent Allegra Spender.

According to Mayo, all of these campaign groups are working towards the same goal.

• The National Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Catholic Council, based on a framework and foundation of subsidiarity.
• Jack Beetson, co-founder and executive director of Aboriginal education initiative Literacy for Life sits on the referendum working group.

No

• Australians for Unity, created on 11 May 2023, led by Warren Mundine and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price – both Indigenous Australians. This is a merger of two key former campaigns:
  • Recognise a Better Way was led by Mundine and included former Nationals deputy PM John Anderson, and former Keating government minister Gary Johns. The campaign, launched in January 2023, was set up by a group called the Voice No Case Committee. The committee included four Indigenous members: Mundine; Price (who left the group in February 2023 to join Advance); founder of the Kings Creek Station Ian Conway; and Bob Liddle, owner of Kemara enterprises. Price officially deleted her membership of the Voice No Case Committee from the Senate register of pecuniary interests on 13 August 2023 (although she had never disclosed her interest before).
  • Fair Australia was a No campaign led by Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (who was originally part of the Recognise a Better Way group) under the auspices of Advance.
• Blak Sovereign Movement, including Senator Lidia Thorpe, who spoke at the National Press Club on 16 August.
• Advance (formerly Advance Australia), a conservative lobby group, has set up a No campaign which includes new social media advertising campaign titled "The Voice is Not Enough" (or just "Not Enough"), aimed at a young demographic and targeting the "progressive no" vote, suggesting that the Voice would be too weak, or is not the main priority for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. A number of people have accused Advance of misrepresenting their views and using photographs of them in its campaign without their permission. Advance has been funded by millionaires such as Jet Couriers founder Brett Ralph, Kennards Self Storage head Sam Kennard, building material scion Rodney O’Neil, health company chief Marcus Blackmore and fund manager Simon Fenwick. In addition, the group has created a "Referendum News" Facebook page showing anti-Voice posts, and has advertised on Facebook and Instagram.

Advertising and media

The government launched its official advertising campaign about the referendum in May 2022, to provide information about what the proposal is, what the Voice would do and how it would be set up, and to encourage Australians to prepare themselves for it. The AEC (which is an independent statutory authority) launched its major education phase in August 2023, aimed at helping and educating voters to prepare for the referendum.

An analysis of various contributors to the campaigns published in early August suggested that the No campaign represented by Advance Australia were using fear as their underlying message, and focussing on prominent Yes campaigners such as Thomas Mayo and Teela Reid. The Blak Sovereign Movement argued that a treaty should be negotiated ahead of establishing the Voice. The Uluru Dialogue was using a sense of pride to show how the nation would be a better place with the Voice in place. Yes23 emphasised fairness and integrity. The report analysed the relative levels of success of the different approaches.

The Yes and No campaigns started advertising on social media in early 2023, and although both had spent around A$110,000 on advertising on Facebook between mid-March and mid-June 2023, it was found that each had targeted different audiences. The biggest spenders were Fair Australia and Yes23. From 3 September 2023, with John Farnham's support, "You're the Voice" was used to advocate for the Yes campaign as a soundtrack to a video ad. The video for the Yes campaign, which aired on several platforms, includes the 1983 America's Cup yacht race (won by an Australian yacht); the handback of Uluru to its traditional owners in 1985; and the landmark Mabo land rights case in 1992.

At the end of August, the top five items on Facebook and X included several that were critical of the Voice and served the No campaign. Their analysis showed how negative stories can have the strongest impact on people's attention, and also how far articles on traditional media could reach on social media. At that time, the Yes23 campaign had spent more than any other campaign group; however, they were less geographically focused than spending by No campaigns. It concluded that while there were many more Yes than No ads published, its message was spread over 33 disparate themes, whole No ads predominantly covered only seven, which were all negative. By the end of September, online advertising by both camps was heavily focused on the Tasmania and South Australia, which were regarded as "battleground" states. Fair Australia started using TikTok in May, and was using it far more extensively and proving more successful than the Yes campaign by October. Yes campaigners on other social media such as Facebook, X, and Instagram had large followings. This may reflect the fact that the younger demographic on TikTok were more likely to be Yes voters, and the No campaign wanted to reach them.

There has been considerable activity in news and other traditional media from both sides of the debate, including TV news (used by around 58% of Australians in 2023), news published online (51%), and in print (19%).

Mass media in Australia are highly concentrated, with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp Australia dominating the landscape, owning over two-thirds of leading newspapers along with most online news websites; three News Corp outlets occupy the top three positions in the nation, based on popularity and viewership. An interim report commissioned by the Australians for a Murdoch Royal Commission group as part of its "Murdoch Referendum Accountability Project" was published in September 2023. Adelaide University academic Victoria Fielding and a team of researchers analysed data on reporting and commentary by News Corp about the Voice between July and August 2023, covering The Australian, Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph, and Sky News Australia. It found that on the whole, news reporting was unbiased and accurate, but the opinion pieces were almost all in favour of the No vote. The majority of News Corp's content was commentary, not reporting, so when the various articles and videos were examined together, around 70% of the coverage favoured "No" arguments. Andrew Bolt and Peta Credlin were the top contributors in favour of a No vote.

Incidents

In July 2023, a cartoon ad promoting the No campaign in the lead-up to the referendum was published by Advance Australia in the Australian Financial Review, featuring caricatures of Thomas Mayo a signatory and advocate of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, along with, MP and Yes advocate Kate Chaney, and her father businessman Michael Chaney. This led to bipartisan condemnation of the ad as "racist". The AFR later apologised for the ad.

In July 2023, Big W, an Australian chain of discount department stores, announced it would stop its in-store announcements that expressed support for the Indigenous voice to parliament.

In early October, the AEC asked the Yes campaign to remove a social media post that contained a misleading graphic that could cause "No" voters to cast an invalid vote.

In early October, the AEC asked the Yes campaign to move their signage away from theirs to avoid confusion, because both were of a similar purple colour.

Misinformation and disinformation

Some opponents of the Voice, primarily right-wing and far-right politicians and commentators, internet trolls, and members of the sovereign citizen movement, have spread misinformation, disinformation and unfounded conspiracy theories regarding the referendum online. This activity is most prominent on Telegram and Twitter (now X). According to independent monitors and fact-checkers, online debate has focused on race, particularly on X. Ben James, editor of the Australian Associated Press' FactCheck team, which monitors content on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, says that the amount of misinformation and disinformation had by early September exceeded that which had been observed on social media ahead of the 2022 Australian election. Leading Indigenous campaigner Thomas Mayo has been subjected to a great deal of racial abuse. While some misinformation has been observed from people on both sides of the discussion, there was generally more on the No side – although it is noted that not all of the claims had emanated from the official No campaign. Social media experts have observed "bot-like behaviour" that spread the same content across social media.

A preprint study in September 2023 showed Yes tweets dominating the X platform, including amplification of misinformation and conspiracy theories created by the No side, with the Yes voters trying to fact-check and correct them. Politicians and media were also increasing the themes of "racial division" and "hidden agenda" on X, in particular Sky News Australia. Many of the No accounts appeared to be recently created and suspicious, although there was little evidence of social bots. The preprint concluded "Overall, our findings reveal a media ecosystem fraught with confusion, conspiratorial sensemaking, and strategic media manipulation".

It has been reported that much of the misleading information and disinformation has been promoted by internet trolls linked to the Chinese Communist Party, with China being accused of espionage, attempting to undermine Western influence and attempting to silence Western criticism of human rights abuses in China. An analysis by Recorded Future confirmed the findings of Australian Strategic Policy Institute in this regard, but found no evidence that Iran or Russia were trying to influence the debate.

Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers said that social media had not adequately dealt with misinformation and disinformation on their platforms; of 47 reported by the AEC as being of concern, only 16 had been taken down.

RMIT FactLab, which had been checking some of the claims made by the No campaign, including that the Uluru Statement comprised more than one page, was suspended by Meta as its key fact-checking organisation in August 2023 because its certification from the International Fact-Checking Network had expired in December 2022. However, it continues its work and is regularly published by ABC News.

In early October, an open letter by 71 academics included a rebuttal to Peter Dutton's claim that the change would introduce race into the Constitution, as it is already in the document. The letter was also intended to "encourage Australian voters to think about who is giving the opinion, and the evidence they are using".

False claims promoted online about the referendum and the Voice include:

• Home ownership will be banned if the Voice referendum succeeds, and that homeowners would instead be forced to rent or sell the land, and various other claims relating to land being taken away from current owners, some of which were sent out in fraudulent letters in Melbourne.
• The Voice would get rid of Anzac Day commemorations.
• The Voice would lead to a system of apartheid akin to the old South African regime – repeated by Sky News Australia host Cory Bernardi and other media outlets.
• The AEC would rig the referendum in favour of the Yes vote, and those who fail to vote in the referendum would be counted as having voted Yes.
• Rather than just the one actual referendum question, there are actually two questions to the referendum, one on whether to recognise Indigenous Australians, and one about the Voice; and that writing Yes on the first question will override a No vote on the second question.
• That the voice is a product of one or several international bodies will ill intent including globalists, the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the World Economic Forum
• A "Communist and New World Order agenda" is behind the Voice; first aired on the anti-Semitic XYZ website in January 2023, then by a Telegram channel which posts content from the XYZ website as well as extremists such as Blair Cottrell; uses a 1980s book and documentary, Red Over Black, created by former Communist Party of Australia member Geoff McDonald (now a right-wing activist) which claimed that the land rights movement was a Communist plot to attack Australia's sovereignty; encouraged by various anti-Semitic individuals and organisations.
• That the referendum is being pushed by an Australian corporation that replaced the old government and now runs Australia as a private for profit entity (according to the sovereign citizen movement).
• That the change re-inserts race into the Constitution after all references were removed in the 1967 referendum. This is untrue; race is still mentioned in the so-called "race power" of the constitution.
• There is a secret agenda, by the Communist Party of Australia, Jews (in a plan to "decrease Australia's sovereignty"), or individual Yes campaigners.
• The UN would take over land in Australia, appointing "one man and one woman in every district" (spread in a viral video created by former Neighbours star Nicola Charles).
• The Yes campaign received favourable treatment with regard to tax, or the Labor Party has bribed people to vote Yes.
• Inaccurate claims that various amounts, usually in tens of billions of dollars, are spent on Indigenous programs already
• Opponents of the Voice are racist.
• Various "slippery slope" arguments, including an incorrect comparison with the New Zealand's Waitangi Tribunal, which was in fact set up "specifically to adjudicate on breaches of the country's foundational treaty"
• Votes in pencil would be erased.
• The vote is illegitimate because the writ for it was not issued with the Great Seal of the Commonwealth or because the Constitution of Australia has been invalid since 1973
• The electoral roll is somehow being "stacked".
• The AEC has campaigned for Yes.
• The AEC is campaigning for No.
• Voting is not compulsory, or requires special registration.

Quality of public debate

Concerns have been aired about the quality of public debate, by both campaigns and private individuals on both sides of the debate. It has been described as divisive and "toxic". Political commentator Laura Tingle described the debate as "bitter", criticising the No campaign in particular.

Marcia Langton was accused of calling No voters "racists", after The Australian published an article headlined "Langton brands No voters 'racist, stupid'"; it was shown afterwards that she was referring to the tactics of No campaigners, not the voters, which she said were "based in racism and stupidity".

There has been racism directed against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including criticism of unrelated topics such as Welcomes to Country, claims that Indigenous people have special treatment, and promulgation of racist stereotypes. "Progressive No" campaigner Lydia Thorpe, who herself has been subject to racist abuse and death threats, exposed a video of a hooded man making racist remarks, burning an Aboriginal flag, and giving a Nazi salute. Abuse towards campaigners on both sides has affected the mental health of several people.

Early voting

On 4 October, the AEC reported that 903,570 votes had been cast after three days of early voting.

By polling day, 6 million early votes had been cast at pre-poll centres, and 2 million postal votes were expected.

Result

Main article: Results of the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum

National result

Australian Indigenous Voice referendum
Choice	Votes	%
No	7,629,515	60.05
Yes	5,074,950	39.95
Valid votes	TBD	TBD
Invalid or blank votes	TBD	TBD
Total votes	TBD	100.00
Registered voters and turnout	TBD	TBD

State and territory breakdown

Breakdown of voting by state and territory

State/Territory	Yes		No		Invalid	Participation rate (%)
	Votes	%	Votes	%
New South Wales	1,729,845	40.89	2,500,286	59.11	TBD	TBD
Victoria	1,473,428	45.47	1,766,742	54.53	TBD	TBD
Queensland	777,075	31.65	1,677,936	68.35	TBD	TBD
Western Australia	398,518	39.27	616,189	60.73	TBD	TBD
South Australia	330,082	35.55	598,521	64.45	TBD	TBD
Tasmania	129,281	40.80	187,553	60.16	TBD	TBD
Australian Capital Territory	110,780	63.87	62,672	36.13	TBD	TBD
Northern Territory	26,746	35.89	47,775	64.11	TBD	TBD
Total for country	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

See also

• List of Indigenous Australian politicians
• List of Indigenous Australians in politics and public service
• Michael Long's walk from Melbourne to Canberra
• Referendums in Australia

External links

• Australian Electoral Commission 2023 referendum website
• Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) Bill 2023 (Cth)
• Yes/No referendum pamphlet and official referendum guide