Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli media: 'Israel' to halt entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza until further notice.
Al Mayadeen correspondent: One woman was killed and several children were injured as a result of Israeli bombing of displaced Gazans' tents in the Mawasi area of ​​Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.
Al Mayadeen correspondent in Gaza: An Israeli airstrike targeted the eastern areas of Jabalia, north of the Gaza Strip.
Al Mayadeen correspondent in Gaza: An Israeli airstrike targeted Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
Al-Qassam Brigades: Communication has been severed with what our remaining fighters (if any are still alive) in Rafah, which is currently under occupation's control.
Al-Qassam Brigades says continues to abide by ceasefire, no knowledge of developments in Rafah.
Israeli media: Reports of two IOF soldiers killed in military vehicle explosion in Rafah.
Israeli media: Israeli soldier killed, another wounded in explosion in Rafah.
Medical sources in West Bank: Palestinian killed by occupation fire; wounded and left to bleed while ambulance crews were barred from reaching him in Al-Ain refugee camp, west of Nablus.
Hamas: Facts on ground reveal opposite of claims, as occupation authorities were ones who armed criminal gangs that practiced murder and kidnapping against people of Gaza.

Australia sets October 14 for Aboriginal referendum date

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News Websites
  • 30 Aug 2023 22:31
4 Min Read

On October 14, Australians will vote on whether to amend the constitution to recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

  • x
  • Australia sets October 14 for Aboriginal referendum date
    Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during a press conference in Sydney, Australia on April 10, 2022. (AP)

On October 14, Australians will vote on whether to amend the constitution to recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, a watershed moment in Indigenous peoples' quest for their rights.

In early August, Western Australia announced it would repeal the Aboriginal Heritage Act that was put in place to preserve Indigenous sites after Rio Tinto destroyed a 46,000-year-old sacred rock shelter there.

Indigenous organizations criticized the decision to abolish the law, claiming there had been insufficient consultation and that their needs had been disregarded.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the date for the historic referendum in Adelaide, characterizing it as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to unify the nation.

Speaking to a cheering crowd, Albanese expressed that "​​October 14 is our time...it’s our chance," explaining that the time is "calling out to the best of our Australian character. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people this has been a marathon. For all of us, it is now a sprint."

Read: Museum of Sydney to transform into Aboriginal cultural space

Ahead of the vote, Australians will be asked whether they support changing the constitution to include a "Voice to Parliament," an Indigenous committee to advise the federal parliament on matters affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

According to Pat Anderson, an Aboriginal woman who is co-leading the change movement, the majority of Aboriginal people favor the Voice to Parliament because they believe it will enhance results.

Anderson urged "everyone to remember that we as First Nations Peoples know what works best for our communities and we believe that a Voice will finally be the step to improve our people's lives."

An elite proposal to divide the country

Related News

Indigenous communities bear brunt of Canada’s historic wildfire season

Aboriginal group sues Australia for $1.1bln iron ore claim

Opposition Liberal party leader for Indigenous affairs, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price believes the Voice to Parliament to be an "elite proposal" that would divide the country.

In a televised news conference, she called it an "old rule of divide and conquer."

The government has put enormous political capital on the referendum's success, and leading athletic organizations, big companies, faith-based organizations, and welfare organizations all back the campaign.

However, public discourse on the subject has been polarizing, and support for the initiative has fallen in recent months.

According to surveys, voting yes would help restore strained connections with the Aboriginal people and unite the nation, and the advisory board will assist in prioritizing Indigenous health, education, jobs, and housing.

Aboriginal Australians are considered one of the oldest continuously existing cultures on the globe. They first populated the continent about 65,000 years ago.

Despite this, Indigenous peoples are currently unrecognized in Australia's constitution, unlike other nations such as the US and Canada.

Some opponents, though, worry that the proposal will split Australians along racial lines and give the Indigenous body too much authority. Others have described the voice as only a symbol. 

The measures did not have bipartisan support, with the conservative opposition Liberal Party pledging to push for a "No" vote and several Liberal Party leaders backing the Voice referendum.

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, whose government voted against the Voice to Parliament in 2017, now says he supports the ideas.

Expressing his opinion to the Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday, he stated that the Voice "delivers recognition and respect to Indigenous Australians in the manner they have sought. On October 14, together, we can bend the arc of history a little further towards justice by voting YES."

Australia has long been unsuccessful in closing the gap between the health and well-being of its Indigenous people and the rest of the people, with soaring imprisonment rates among First Nations people and a life expectancy lower than the national average by eight years.

  • Australia
  • Aboriginal people
  • indigenous people

Most Read

Iran strikes secret Israeli-US bunker under Tel Aviv high-rise

Tel Aviv high-rise struck by Iran hid Site 81, secret US-Israeli base

  • Politics
  • 14 Oct 2025
Palestinian journalist Saleh al-Jaafarawi in an undated image in Gaza, occupied Palestine (Social media)

Gaza Palestinian journalist Saleh al-Jafarawi killed by collaborators

  • Politics
  • 12 Oct 2025
drop site

New report details extensive Israeli arson in Gaza after ceasefire

  • Politics
  • 13 Oct 2025
Illustration of fists breaking shackles, representing the liberation of Palestinian detainees from Israeli prisons. (Illustrated by: AL Mayadeen English/Batoul Chamas)

4 prominent Palestinian detainees to be freed: Who are they?

  • Palestine
  • 13 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Iraqi religious leader Sheikh Jawad al-Khalisi on Al Mayadeen Plus, October 18, 2025 (Screengrab)
Politics

Most powerful decision-maker in Iraq is US: Sheikh Al-Khalisi

Flags of Iran, Russia, and China (IRNA)
Politics

Iran, Russia, China confirm: Iran nuclear issue out of UNSC

Member of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc Ali Fayyad speaks to Al Mayadeen, October 18, 2025 (Screengrab)
Politics

Hezbollah, allies will reject direct talks with 'Israel': MP Fayyad

The bodies of killed Palestinians held by "Israel" during the war are downloaded from Red Cross vehicles after their release, at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Oct. 15, 2025. (AP)
Politics

From rubble to graveyards, Gaza continues recovering its martyrs

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS