Referendum Australia's only chance to establish Indigenous Voice: PM

CANBERRA - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared Saturday's landmark referendum the only chance to establish an Indigenous Voice, ruling out future attempts to do so.

Albanese on Sunday said his Labor Party government would walk away from the voice proposal if the "yes" vote does not succeed in Saturday's referendum, voting in which is mandatory for all Australians aged 18 and over.

If it is passed, the referendum would alter the constitution to recognize Australia's first peoples by establishing the Indigenous Voice, which would advise the federal parliament on all issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The government had previously left the door open to creating the voice through legislation if voters defeat the referendum, but Albanese on Sunday ruled out doing so, saying a legislated body would be weaker and easier for future governments to unwind.

A legislated voice could be abolished or stripped back by future governments with an act of parliament whereas any change to a voice that is enshrined in the constitution would require another referendum.

"We will continue to do what we can to listen to Indigenous Australians. We try that now. But Indigenous Australians are saying that they want it to be enshrined," Albanese told state media Australian Broadcasting Corporation television on Sunday. "A vote for Yes is a vote to show respect to Indigenous Australians."

In order for the referendum to be passed the "yes" vote must secure a double majority, meaning that more than 50 percent of voters nationally as well as a majority in at least four out of the six states must vote "yes".

The "yes" vote has succeeded in only eight out of the 44 referendums in Australian history and has failed in the most recent eight.

Albanese on Saturday cast a "yes" vote at an early voting center in Sydney, joining more than 2.2 million people who have cast their ballots early since pre-polling opened on Monday, according to Australian Electoral Commission data.