Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed the date of the upcoming Voice to parliament referendum, announcing the nationwide vote will be held on October 14.
Having been widely anticipated as the vote date, Australians will head to the referendum polls for the first time in 24 years on the second Saturday in October to decide whether to enshrine an Indigenous Voice in Australia's constitution.
Speaking from an event in Adelaide in the looming referendum battleground state of South Australia, Mr Albanese confirmed the date.
"On that date, every Australian will have a once in a generation chance to bring our country together and you change it for the better - for recognition, listening and better results. And I asked all Australians to vote yes," the Prime Minister said.
Mr Albanese said a successful referendum will bring positive changes for First Nations people and communities.
"The voice will be a committee of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, local representatives from every state and territory, the region's remote communities, as well as the Torres Strait Islands, a committee of Indigenous Australians, chosen by indigenous Australians giving advice to government so that we can get better results for Indigenous," he said.
"Just imagine the progress we could make with a Voice connecting the regions with the nation. And giving locals a say, of course means that we save money too, because we'll be making sure the funding actually reaches the people on the ground."
The Prime Minister said a no vote would would 'close the door' on the opportunity for practical steps forward.
"Let's be very clear about the alternative because voting no leads nowhere. It means nothing changes. Voting no closes the door on this opportunity to move forward," he said.
"Don't close the door on constitutional recognition. Don't close the door on listening to communities to get better results. Don't close the door on an idea that came from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people themselves and don't close on the next generation of Indigenous Australians."
"Vote yes."
South Australia remains a key state in the debate, with recent poll data from The Australia Institute suggesting a majority of South Australians are currently in favour of the Voice.
The poll of 605 participants found 43 per cent of South Australians are for an Indigenous Voice to parliament whilst 39 per cent are opposed.
After the undecided 18 per cent were even split in their leaning, the Yes vote in SA remained ahead, 52-48.
However a separate poll from The Institute of Public Affairs found Tasmania, another key swing state, is now leaning towards No after support for the Voice in the island state softened.
After the recent Resolve Strategic poll reported 55 per cent of Tasmanians were for the Voice, the Insightfully data, a poll of 1156 Tasmanians published on Tuesday, found 42 per cent for the Voice, with 53 per cent opposed and five per cent undecided.
Recent polling has seen the No vote ahead in New South Wales (54 per cent), Queensland (59 per cent) and Western Australia (56 per cent), with the Yes vote in Victoria (51 per cent) ahead by the barest of margins.
A double majority is required for the Voice referendum to be successful, meaning a national majority of voters across all states and territories and a majority of voters in at least four out of six states is required for the Yes vote to prevail.
More to come.
