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Indigenous Voice poll reveals flaws in Yes campaign’s claims of First Nations support for referendum
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The No campaign has released shocking new data on how Indigenous people intend to vote, calling into question a major claim by the Yes campaign.
The Yes23 campaign has repeatedly stated that 80 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people support The Voice, a figure which has also been used by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
But the No camp said its internal polling of First Nations people showed support for the referendum was far lower than the Yes camp claimed.
In a February poll, Indigenous support for Voice stood at 60 percent – at a time when overall support in the broader community was almost exactly the same, at 59 percent.
By May, the number of Indigenous people supporting Voice had fallen to 57 percent, and to 54 percent among all Australians, according to the Sunday Telegraph reported.
With more than 2 million people, including Anthony Albanese (pictured at the Garma festival with partner Jodie Haydon), having already voted in the Voice to Parliament referendum, the No campaign has released shocking new data on how indigenous people intend to vote.
That 80 percent figure is based on polls in January and March by Ipsos and YouGov, which found support for Voice among Indigenous Australians was 80 percent and 83 percent respectively.
A spokesperson for the No camp said the support figures, ranging from 57 to 60 percent, rather than 80 to 83 percent, “turn the Yes campaign’s assertion that Indigenous Australians overwhelmingly support the Voice – that’s not true.”
“It’s a lie that has sustained their campaign for months. The experience on the ground is clear: Indigenous Australians are just as divided on the Voice as everyone else.
The No camp’s poll was conducted online, which “prioritises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have access to the internet” and “does not include face-to-face meetings in remote communities” .
But the Ipsos and YouGov polls were also carried out online.
Early voting stations opened in some states on Monday and were all open on Tuesday across Australia due to public holidays in some jurisdictions.
Like around 2.2 million Australians, Mr Albanese has already voted in the referendum on Saturday in his home constituency of Marrickville, in western Sydney.
“Yes for recognition, yes for listening, yes for better results,” Mr. Albanese wrote in a message on social media, accompanied by a photo of him voting in the ballot box alongside his son Nathan.
On Friday, he tweeted: “We have eight days to make the greatest country in the world even greater by voting yes.”
If the Yes vote is successful, The Voice will provide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with a means of advising the Government on policy and legislative issues that directly affect them.
The most recent poll suggested that the Yes vote would fail by 36 to 56 percent.
Meanwhile, former Chief Justice of Australia Robert French KC said Australians would do “better” than live up to the No campaign slogan “if you don’t know, vote no”, in a speech delivered Friday to the National Press Club.
For months, the Yes23 campaign has repeatedly claimed that 80 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people support The Voice, a figure which has also been used by the Prime Minister. An Aboriginal smoking ceremony is photographed
“It invites us into resentful, curiosity-free passivity. Australians – whether they vote Yes or No – are better than this,” he said.
“We’re waiting impatiently. We can also look back to better understand where we came from and where we currently are.
The overwhelming majority of Australian legal experts believe the Australians’ proposed amendment is constitutionally sound and would “improve” the system of government, Mr French said.
Daily Mail Australia contacted the Yes23 campaign but declined to comment.
First Nation support for referendum debunked by Indigenous Voice poll