Sunrise host Nat Barr says what many Australians think of The Voice’s referendum

Sunrise host Natalie Barr has expressed concerns about the Aboriginal vote referendum in parliament, saying that Australians want recognition of First Nations people but do not understand how the mechanism will work.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to announce the official date for the referendum today during his visit to Adelaide in the must-win state of South Australia, with October 14 expected to be preferred.

“I think a lot of people don’t really understand that,” Barr said.

The announcement of the referendum date will spark six weeks of intense campaigning from the “Yes” and “No” camps.

Speaking to Home Affairs Minister Claire O’Neill and shadow finance minister Jane Hume on Wednesday, Barr said she hoped the government would use that period to better communicate details of the plan to Australians.

The referendum would require Australians to constitutionally enshrine an Indigenous advisory body in parliament known as the “Voice”, but details will come in the form of subsequent legislation.

“As much as some people want Indigenous Australians to be recognized in the constitution, you can’t deny that a lot of people don’t understand that,” Barr said.

“A lot of people say, well, how many people are going to participate, how is it going to be voted on – all the details.”

“You’re going to create another layer of bureaucracy – all that stuff – do you think you can explain that in six weeks?” Barr asked Ms. O’Neill.

“We also need to understand that.”

Barr asked Ms O’Neill if the monumental task of engaging Australians was too big for a month-and-a-half campaign, with the latest polls not looking so favourable.

Anthony Albanese will announce the official date for the Aboriginal vote referendum on Parliament today in the must-win state of South Australia.

Ms O’Neill said previous governments had tried “everything else” but there was still a worrying societal divide between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, and a voice was the way to fix that.

“What I would say to Australians is…first, this has come from First Nations people, not the politicians who dreamed this up,” she said.

Why is there a nine-year life expectancy gap between First Nations and non-First Nations Australians?

“Why is an Indigenous mother three times more likely to die during childbirth?”

“These are just some of the terrible gaps in the standard of living between First Nations and Australians and others.

We’ve tried everything else.

“I mean, we spent money on this problem. We set up, you know, people inside the government to try to deal with it, and it doesn’t work.

“First Nations people have said we want to have a voice in Parliament, and this is the path toward fixing these issues.”

Sunrise host Nat Barr questioned whether the government could win over Australians on audio details during a six-week campaign

to For a referendum to be successful, it must receive a double majority, which means that a majority of Australians as well as a majority of states must vote yes.

Victoria has been steady in its support of the proposal but New South Wales appears to be leaning towards the holdout camp.

Queensland and Western Australia have been firmly in the no camps in the polls.

In the crucial state of South Australia, a new poll conducted by the Australian Research Institute, which included 605 voters, indicates that 43 percent support the indigenous voice in Parliament, while 39 percent oppose it.

The undecided 18 percent were evenly split in their preferences, putting “yes” first by 52 to 48.

Previous opinion polls had put “No” in the lead in South Africa.

A separate poll by another think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs, showed Tasmania, another key swing state, leaning towards No.

The poll of 1,156 voters in the state found that 53 percent intend to vote no, while another 42 percent support it.

Another five percent said they were undecided.

Yes supporters will begin campaigns across the country, including knocking on doors and walking in the streets.

Anthony Albanese (pictured with partner Jodi Haydon) makes his case for a yes vote in the upcoming Aboriginal vote referendum in Parliament in Western Australia amid criticism within the local Labor Party that he will be defeated

Anthony Albanese (pictured in Sydney last week) will need to convince at least 1.7 million undecided voters in order to win the Vote referendum, leaked documents have revealed.

Former Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will join Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and Yes volunteers to hand out the leaflets in Sydney.

And in Tasmania, Liberal MP Bridget Archer will take to the streets to encourage voters to support the motion.

Greens leader Adam Bandt and NDIS Minister Bill Shorten will speak to commuters in inner north Melbourne.

Other polls show the yes vote lagging across the country and heading downward, but activists say the mood on the ground is more upbeat.

Speaking in Adelaide, Aboriginal activist Noel Pearson said the state would be crucial in the referendum.

“It’s really a focal point,” he said. “It was between those eastern states that said very firmly ‘yes’ and those that are still thinking about what to do in this referendum.”

Vote supporters face an uphill battle with the vast majority of Australian referendums failing and the federal opposition campaigning intensely against constitutional change.

The “No” campaign made the sound legally risky and divisive along racial lines.

Former Prime Minister John Howard warned that a successful vote would lead to calls for a treaty.

He told Sky News: “We have no treaties with parts of ourselves and should just state that it would come off as a complete absurdity.”

“Treaties are made between sovereign nations, and we have treaties with other nations.”