The Voice referendum date set for October 14

The referendum on whether to change the Australian Constitution to recognise First Nations people through an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament will take place on October 14, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Wednesday morning.

Speaking in Elizabeth in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, Albanese confirmed the date while issuing his support for the proposed amendment.

“I ask all Australians to vote Yes,” Albanese said.

Voting ‘yes’ in the referendum will follow through on a proposal made by the Uluru Statement from the Heart, the Prime Minister added.

“To say yes to an invitation that comes directly from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people themselves,” he said.

“A proposal that thousands of elders and leaders in communities all over our country have worked on for well over a decade.

“A change supported by more than 80% of Indigenous Australians. Constitutional recognition through a Voice, a way for all of us to recognise Indigenous Australians and their history in our Constitution.”

Businesses are among the Australian entities to have backed the ‘Yes’ movement so far, he continued.

“Faith groups and sporting codes and local councils and businesses and unions have embraced it.

“An army of volunteers from every part of this great nation are throwing all of their energy behind it.

“Now, my fellow Australians, you can vote for it.”

October 14 will mark the nation’s first referendum since the 1999 Australian republic referendum, which did not succeed in changing Australia’s form of government.