Indigenous Voice referendum tipped to succeed thanks to support from young voters
Young Australians are expected to be key to the success of the Indigenous vote referendum.
Cabinet minister Don Farrell told the National Press Club that voters over 55 tended to oppose the vote, while Australians under 35 overwhelmingly supported it.
“That young cohort will be enough to counter the ‘no’ vote and I think it will be the young people who will raise the Indigenous voice for Australia,” he said on Thursday.
“If it (referendum) were held this Saturday, I think it would stand up.
“The majority of Australians voted for it and there would be a majority of states.”
Senator Farrell said he was still “optimistic” about the referendum on the Voice to Parliament.
“We tried the republic, it didn’t work, so I think the vote is the right one,” he said.
“There are no other people in our community who are as disadvantaged as Indigenous Australians, and it’s time we recognized them in our constitution.”
Meanwhile, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association have supported the proposed constitutional amendment.
The Indigenous vote would lead to an important step forward and would also result in better mental health outcomes, the college said in a statement.
“We are acutely aware of the trauma inflicted on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as a result of the continued impact of colonisation, dispossession and systemic racism and inequality,” it added.
Donna Burns, CEO of the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association, said the vote would improve the wellbeing of Indigenous people.
“The data overwhelmingly demonstrate that an unacceptable health gap persists as a result of the health inequality experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples,” she said.
“AIDA’s position is based on our vision to rectify the persisting health inequalities that disproportionately affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.”
Laws to set up the referendum on indigenous voting were passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
The bill, which will finalize the referendum issue and constitutional amendments to be submitted to the public, now moves to the Senate.
It is expected to be passed by the federal parliament later this month, with the referendum to be held between October and December.
Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney urged people who didn’t know much about the vote to think about the inequality people face before making a decision.
“I would like to say to those people … look into your heart and look at the situation of the Aboriginal people in this country,” she said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says people who oppose The Voice are entitled to their opinion