THE SQUIZ
It’s official: Aussies will have their say via a vote in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum later this year after the Senate passed a bill yesterday to make it happen. PM Anthony Albanese said the referendum would be a chance for Aussies to “make history”. “It will be a moment of national unity, a chance to make our nation even greater,” he said. But not everyone is on board… Shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash criticised the proposal – she says if Aussies vote ‘yes’ in the referendum, the Voice will open “a legal can of worms”.

WAIT, I THOUGHT THIS WAS ALL LOCKED IN?
Nope – and let’s regroup… Albanese announced plans for a referendum at the Garma Festival last July. Then, after months of consultation with Indigenous leaders, the government shared the preferred draft wording of the question that Aussies will be asked to vote on. The wording was included in the Constitutional Alteration Bill, which ticks the legislative boxes to allow the referendum to happen – and that’s the legislation that went through the House of Reps late last month before passing in the Senate yesterday. There was a standing ovation when it was voted through 52-19, and Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney said it was “the final hurdle” to clear. “Today, the political debate ends. Today, we can start a national conversation at the community level,” she said.

SO WHAT NOW?
We’re now waiting for Albanese to name the date when more than 17 million will vote. It must be scheduled between 2-6 months from now, with mid-October thought to be the preferred time given a rolling schedule of footy finals and school holidays. The ‘yes’ and ‘no’ camps will now ramp up their campaigns… The Coalition has given us a preview of the ‘no’ messaging – that a Voice would lead to regular High Court challenges and delay government decision-making. And on the ‘yes’, it’s about recognising the continent’s first people in the Constitution and listening to their voices on issues that impact them. Yesterday, Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians/Yanyuwa woman Malarndirri McCarthy called on campaigners “to be mindful of the commentary and the conversations” they have in the coming months and to be respectful. Buckle up…