Indigenous leader Marcia Langton points out gaping hole in Anthony Albanese’s Voice referendum: ‘Tell us what the future holds’

A prominent Aboriginal leader has pointed to a gaping hole in the upcoming referendum on an indigenous vote in parliament.

Marcia Langton has used a speech to the National Press Club to urge Anthony Albanese to say what the future holds for the indigenous people if the referendum fails.

She fears that if the vote is rejected on October 14, it could give governments a mandate to “do nothing and make our lives worse.”

The University of Melbourne academic said the federal government needs to make its agenda clear to Indigenous Australians “before the mob takes over and turns a no vote into a mandate that could do us even more harm”.

“If the government is not inclined to set the agenda before the vote, it should do so immediately afterwards and that means it must now be ready to tell us what the future holds for us,” Ms Langton said.

“Many Indigenous Australians who are on the front lines of tackling these issues in towns and cities and communities, outposts and farmlands are deeply concerned about the prospect of losing the Voice, as they already have little to say.

“And a loss means they’ll have even less.”

The Prime Minister said his ‘plan B’, if the referendum does not pass, is ‘to always continue to do what we can’ to narrow the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in areas such as health outcomes and education attainment.

Ms Langton said Australians should be aware that not enough progress has been made in closing such gaps.

She said she and others supporting Yes would talk about facts such as the 10-year difference in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in the coming weeks.

The professor hopes that raising awareness of such differences can help undecided voters move to the ‘Yes’ camp.

But time is running out for the Yes side to recover from the steady decline in the polls over several months.

The latest national poll shows that support for the Voice to Parliament is plummeting: only 38 percent intend to vote ‘Yes’.

The poll, conducted by Newspoll for The Australian, shows the No vote at 53 per cent, just over five weeks after the election date – the first time support for the No vote has risen to an outright majority.

The alarming new data came Sunday when iconic Australian pop singer John Farnham provided his song You’re The Voice for an official advertisement for the Yes campaign.

Anthony Albanese (pictured) said his ‘plan B’, if the referendum does not pass, is ‘to always keep doing what we can’ to narrow the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians

Ms Langton has also joined many other Yes vote campaigners in saying she would not work with opposition leader Peter Dutton on his plan for a second referendum if next month’s falls through.

Mr Dutton’s second vote – if the referendum fails and the coalition wins the next federal election – would be to recognize Indigenous Australians in the constitution, but would not include an Indigenous vote in parliament.

Albanese firmly rejected that plan on Tuesday, saying: “No one is asking for a second referendum. No one, no way.

‘(Mr. Dutton) wants him to want to see the native people. He just doesn’t want them to be heard.’

The prime minister also denounced the opposition for calling for new wording in the referendum question, after they approved the current wording in parliament.

“He said we can change the question,” Mr. Albanese said. “He voted for the legislation. He said, “I’m here for the legislation.” That is the wording of this referendum.

“The leader of the opposition wants to defeat this referendum for political reasons. And then he says we will have another referendum.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton (pictured) plans to hold a second referendum if the vote falls through next month

‘Because he wants two referenda. He wants to talk about this year after year after year after year.

‘We want results.’

Another prominent Indigenous Yes campaigner, Thomas Mayo, also indicated that he would not work with Dutton on a second ballot, saying recognition should be more than just symbolic.

“The urgency expressed by Professor Langton is shared by everyone in the Yes campaign. We cannot accept the status quo, which is basically what the No campaign defends,” he said.