The Squiz 

Tomorrow’s the day when millions of Aussies will have their say on enshrining an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in our nation’s Constitution – and the campaigns are making their last-ditch efforts to convince the almost 10% of undecided voters to come their way. On the ‘Yes’ side, PM Anthony Albanese hopes the exercise will result in recognition for Indigenous Aussies. “We’re really privileged to share this country with the oldest continuous culture on Earth. And I’m hoping, of course, that on Saturday, we put that fact of history into our Constitution,” he said. As for leading ‘No’ campaigner Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, she hopes the country will come together after the vote. “No matter what the outcome is, Australia has gone through a pretty rough patch with this referendum,” she said yesterday. 

What do I need to know?

Look no further than our Voice referendum resource centre… But in short, the ‘Yes’ campaign says a Voice – which would be a formal body made up of Indigenous representatives that gives advice to the federal government – would give Indigenous Aussies a say in policies that affect them. But ‘No’ campaigners say it’s unclear how it would function or what effect it would have. The polls point to the referendum going down, with the final YouGov poll published yesterday showing support for the ‘Yes’ vote at 38%, compared to 56% for the ‘No’ camp… And heading into tomorrow, the Electoral Commission says more than 4 million Aussies have voted early (which you’d have to think will only increase significantly today), and 2 million applied for a postal vote. 

So what happens after the vote?

It’ll be time to start name-dropping a double majority… And put this time in your day planner – ABC’s election guru Antony Green reckons we’ll know the result by 7.30pm (AEDT). If the ‘Yes’ vote defies the polls to win – the Albanese Government and Indigenous groups will kick start the process of designing how the Voice will actually work. And if it’s a ‘No’ vote, Albanese has said he’ll walk away from the idea of the Voice, and Indigenous leaders like Pat Dodson have warned Australia faces a reckoning after a divisive campaign. Whatever the result, brace yourself for an onslaught of analysis come Sunday morning and next week. Check you on the flipside…