Australians urged to 'choose love' as millions vote in Voice referendum
- 6 months ago
#englishnews
News Article :-
Most polls have closed in an Australian referendum that will set the tone of relations with the country’s First Nations people for decades to come.
Counting was underway Saturday in several eastern states and territories, with very early results pointing to a possible defeat for the proposal, according to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).
Voters are being asked to approve an amendment to the constitution to recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and to create a body – the Voice to Parliament – of Indigenous people to advise the government on matters that affect them.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had called it a “simple proposition,” but months of debate have revealed a complex mix of hostility and apathy toward the proposal on a scale likely to consign the matter to Australia’s long list of referendums that failed to win the popular vote.
To pass, the Voice needs a majority Yes vote nationwide and in at least four of six states – a feat only accomplished in eight of the past 44 referendums since the first was held in 1906.
The last referendum to pass was in 1977, before the arrival of the internet in Australia, and well before the rise of social media that has helped polarize debate and supercharge the spread of misinformation around this vote.
On Thursday – two days before polls closed – a YouGov survey of more than 1,500 prospective voters, gave the No camp a commanding lead of 18 points – 56% to 38% with the remainder undecided– a pattern roughly reflected in several other polls. Voting is compulsory in Australia, so turnout is expected to be high.
For ‘love of country’
A record 17.6 million people are expected to cast a vote, and a result is expected on Saturday evening local time.
If pre-referendum polls prove to be wrong and the referendum passes, it’ll be a monumental upset and a shock victory for Albanese, who has approached the campaign as a personal mission.
This week, he returned to Uluru, the huge rock formation in the country’s center, where Indigenous leaders agreed in 2017 to reach out for constitutional recognition.
Sitting in the dirt holding hands with Indigenous women, his eyes welled with tears as they sang a traditional song.
Explaining the emotional moment to reporters later, Albanese said: “To be able to sit in this red dirt, there was a sense of how big Australia is, our culture, and the incredible privilege.”
Albanese has pitched this vote as an expression of love.
“This is a campaign about love for our fellow Australians, and about respect,” Albanese said. “But it’s also about love of ourselves, whether we have the courage to love what Australia is. It isn’t something that began when a few ships came in 1788. This is Australia, that fullness and richness of our history.”
In the final days of the campaign, Yes campaigners reiterated the message, releasing statements urging people to “choose love over spin”
News Article :-
Most polls have closed in an Australian referendum that will set the tone of relations with the country’s First Nations people for decades to come.
Counting was underway Saturday in several eastern states and territories, with very early results pointing to a possible defeat for the proposal, according to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).
Voters are being asked to approve an amendment to the constitution to recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and to create a body – the Voice to Parliament – of Indigenous people to advise the government on matters that affect them.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had called it a “simple proposition,” but months of debate have revealed a complex mix of hostility and apathy toward the proposal on a scale likely to consign the matter to Australia’s long list of referendums that failed to win the popular vote.
To pass, the Voice needs a majority Yes vote nationwide and in at least four of six states – a feat only accomplished in eight of the past 44 referendums since the first was held in 1906.
The last referendum to pass was in 1977, before the arrival of the internet in Australia, and well before the rise of social media that has helped polarize debate and supercharge the spread of misinformation around this vote.
On Thursday – two days before polls closed – a YouGov survey of more than 1,500 prospective voters, gave the No camp a commanding lead of 18 points – 56% to 38% with the remainder undecided– a pattern roughly reflected in several other polls. Voting is compulsory in Australia, so turnout is expected to be high.
For ‘love of country’
A record 17.6 million people are expected to cast a vote, and a result is expected on Saturday evening local time.
If pre-referendum polls prove to be wrong and the referendum passes, it’ll be a monumental upset and a shock victory for Albanese, who has approached the campaign as a personal mission.
This week, he returned to Uluru, the huge rock formation in the country’s center, where Indigenous leaders agreed in 2017 to reach out for constitutional recognition.
Sitting in the dirt holding hands with Indigenous women, his eyes welled with tears as they sang a traditional song.
Explaining the emotional moment to reporters later, Albanese said: “To be able to sit in this red dirt, there was a sense of how big Australia is, our culture, and the incredible privilege.”
Albanese has pitched this vote as an expression of love.
“This is a campaign about love for our fellow Australians, and about respect,” Albanese said. “But it’s also about love of ourselves, whether we have the courage to love what Australia is. It isn’t something that began when a few ships came in 1788. This is Australia, that fullness and richness of our history.”
In the final days of the campaign, Yes campaigners reiterated the message, releasing statements urging people to “choose love over spin”