The next Garma Festival will not be the venue for the announcement of the date for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament vote, according to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
It had long been rumoured that the Prime Minister will announce the election date at the Garma Festival, the largest Indigenous gathering in Australia, which is held in Arnhem Land.
He provided an idea for a potential referendum question and the language for the constitutional amendment in his Garma address from the previous year.
Due to schedule considerations, Mr. Albanese stated on Monday that he had no plans to announce the referendum date at Garma.
He informed Sky News host Andrew Clennell that the event would take place between October and December.
Since Garma is just a few weeks away and the referendum campaign requires at least 33 days’ notice, I won’t be announcing the date there.
By declaring the date at Garma, Mr. Albanese would start the process for the Governor-General to issue a writ, which must be done within 33 days as required by the Referendum Act.
When asked if a five- to six-week campaign will be held for the Voice referendum, Mr. Albanese responded that it might be “appropriate”.
He asserted that the campaign “certainly doesn’t need to be that very long.”
“The campaign will begin in earnest once the date is announced.”
He continued by saying that he had decided to postpone using Garma to announce the vote date since Australians don’t “appreciate” lengthy campaigns.
Announcing a date at Garma is not something I foresee happening this time, Mr. Albanese added.
The referendum vote cannot take place before mid-August of this year or after mid-January of next year, according to the referendum legislation that was approved by parliament earlier this year.
Leader of the NSW opposition aims to
The following dates have been suggested for the referendum: October 14, November 4 and 25, and December 16.
The last referendum was the unsuccessful republic referendum in 1999, therefore the upcoming one will be the first in over 25 years.
Of the 44 referendums held in Australia since Federation, only eight have been approved.
A majority vote is required in the majority of states and nationally for referendums to pass.
