Australians to vote in a referendum on Indigenous Voice to Parliament on Oct. 14

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australians will vote on Oct. 14 on a proposed law to create a so-called Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the nation’s first referendum in a generation. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday announced the referendum date, triggering six weeks of intensifying campaigning by both sides of the argument. The referendum would enshrine in the constitution an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, a collection of advocates aimed at giving the nation’s most disadvantaged ethnic minority more say on government policy. Australia has not held a referendum since 1999 and a referendum has not passed since 1977. No referendum has ever passed without bipartisan support and the major parties remain divided over the Voice.