“We are going to give the Australian people the opportunity to vote on something that overwhelmingly will not have a direct impact on most Australians,” he said in a radio interview in May. “But it just might make a positive difference for some of the most disadvantaged Australians.”
He is right,of course. The Voice is a defining national vote on whether Australians will support a new way to help those who suffer the worst poverty,health and incarceration rates in the country.
But it is not hard to hear the response from voters:if the Voice will not help me,why is it taking up so much of your time?
Thelatest Resolve Political Monitor confirms the real priority for voters:91 per cent say it’s the cost of living. Asked about a range of issues,only 41 per cent name Indigenous policy – the lowest rating out of 18 topics from defence to health.
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It is too late to change the decisions by the Yes campaign to postpone key details until after the referendum and rely on Albanese to be the chief advocate for a Yes vote. The government could have appointed a minister to lead the Yes case every day – someone to complement Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney – but chose not to,so Albanese must be the salesman-in-chief.
The Resolve survey reveals the political cost. Albanese has suffered a severe fall in his net approval rating,from a bumper 27 percentage points in April and May to just two points in August,and the government has lost ground on whether it is focused on the right issues.