Australian prime minister says he’s confident Indigenous people back having their Parliament ‘Voice’

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s prime minister says he is confident that Indigenous Australians overwhelmingly support a proposal to create their own representative body to advise Parliament and have it enshrined in the constitution. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s remarks on Tuesday came as Tiwi Islanders cast their votes on making such a constitutional change. They were among the first in early polling that began this week in remote Outback communities, many with significant Indigenous populations. The Oct. 14 referendum is to decide on having the so-called Indigenous Voice to Parliament be enshrined in the constitution. Albanese says his confidence is based on opinion polling and his interactions with Indigenous people in remote Outback locations.