Indigenous Voice to Parliament: Anthony Albanese hits back at claims senior Labor members fear referendum will fail in Western Australia

Anthony Albanese has hit back at claims senior members of his own party have voiced concerns about the Voice referendum failing in Western Australia. 

With Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus speaking at pro-Voice events in Perth over the weekend, the Prime Minister will back a Yes vote in a speech there on Tuesday morning.

Polling figures show the Voice is on track to be defeated, while senior Western Australian Labor members have expressed concern about the referendum failing in their state, The West Australian reported.

Mr Albanese rubbished the claims insisting nobody in WA Labor has expressed concerns directly to him. 

‘No one’s saying that to me,’ he said. ‘People are positive and people are out there campaigning and people have set up groups. 

Anthony Albanese has hit back at claims senior members of his own party have expressed concerns about the Voice referendum failing in Western Australia

Mr Albanese said the people campaigning for a Yes vote, including 2,400 volunteers who have taken the message directly to 20,000 homes, are staying positive.  

‘The Labor Party, teals, Liberals as well, report the same thing … really positive feedback and big meetings,’ he said. 

‘The feedback of people who’ve knocked on doors in WA, and everywhere else, shows, I think, the support which is there when people focus on what the question is.’

After months of speculation, the date for the referendum will be officially announced on Wednesday when the Prime Minister visits Adelaide after leaving WA.

It is widely expected to be held on Saturday, October 14, giving the government and the Yes campaign just over six weeks to turn around polling figures which have been falling for months. 

In one recent poll, Victoria was the only state that backed a Yes vote. For the referendum to pass it has to get a majority of the national vote and also win at least four of the six states. 

Nationally, the No side is leading with 47 per cent, with the Yes side on 43 per cent, while 10 per cent of people have still not made up their mind. 

Mr Albanese said once the date is announced, people will have a closer look at the referendum question and what it will mean for Indigenous Australians.

He believes people will then see that it’s ‘a very clear proposition’ to recognise that Australia had a rich history long before white settlement.

But in a clear sign the Prime Minister is listening to voters who say the Voice is not their main concern in difficult economic times, he stressed that the Government is helping with cheaper medicines and childcare and a welfare increase.

On Friday, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said a slump in China’s economy painted a worrying picture.

‘A lot of economists around the world are concerned about the Chinese economy right now, and … I share that concern,’ he told ABC Radio.

‘What we’re seeing … is a very different combination of challenges compared with most of the rest of the world.’

Mr Chalmers said he monitors such developments very closely ‘because in our economy … the two things that will probably matter most to that trajectory will be developments in China but also the impact of these (interest) rate rises which are in the system.’ 

Foreign Minister Penny Wong (pictured) is also speaking at a pro-Voice event in Perth over the weekend

But Mr Albanese said the changes to ease cost of living pressures is paying off. 

‘For us to be getting inflation down with unemployment at 3.7 per cent shows that we do have a resilient economy. 

‘Our task is to set ourselves up for the medium term,’ he said.

Incoming Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock will shed more light on the state of the economy when she delivers a speech in Canberra on Tuesday.