Early polling opens as referendum hits home stretch

Dominic Giannini | October 2, 2023

Australians will head to the polls for the first referendum in nearly 25 years on October 14 but pre-polling booths are already opening. 

PRE-POLL:

* Early voting opened in the Northern Territory, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia on Monday

* Early voting opens in NSW, the ACT, Queensland and South Australia on Tuesday (Monday is a public holiday).

‘YES’ CAMP:

* Yes23 campaign director Dean Parkin was on the hustings in Melbourne

* Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressed reporters in Melbourne before travelling to Hobart to meet with Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney, Tasmanian MPs and Yes23 campaigners

* The key message is voting ‘yes’ will give Indigenous people a say in matters that affect them and not impact the lives of most Australians or veto government decisions

‘NO’ CAMP:

* Opposition Indigenous Australians Minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was in Perth

* The Indigenous senator and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton travelled around regional NSW in the week leading up to pre-poll opening

* The key message is putting the advisory body in the constitution means it will be permanent if something goes wrong and will divide the nation by race

AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION:

* 97.7 per cent of eligible Australians are enrolled to vote, a 447,000-person increase from the 2022 federal election

* There’s a record-high 94.1 per cent Indigenous enrolment, up from 74.7 per cent in 2017

* 91.4 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds are enrolled

* More than 60 teams have loaded 4WDs, helicopters and planes to visit some of the smallest and most remote communities to enable them to cast their ballots