Anthony Albanese says he has no regrets about committing to the Voice to parliament referendum but says he wishes there “wasn’t misinformation out there”.
As Australia waits for the Prime Minister to confirm the referendum date, to be sometime in October or November, campaigning on both sides is ramping up.
Mr Albanese will be in Sydney on Tuesday to join former Liberal MP and ultra-marathon runner Pat Farmer – as well as Sydney Swans players – to campaign for the proposed change to the Constitution.
Fresh off the back of issuing a rally cry to Labor Party faithful on the weekend, Mr Albanese said he was “very confident” that Australians would block out the “noise” and take up the opportunity to “actually do the right thing and take up the invitation of Indigenous Australians”.
“It’s pretty simple, really, when you remove all the noise – it’s simply recognition and having an advisory body so we can listen to Indigenous Australians and get better results,” he told ABC Radio.
“I wish there wasn’t misinformation out there, but it is what it is.
“I did my best to get Peter Dutton on side and to get bipartisan support. It’s clear that was never going to be the case, and that’s unfortunate.”
Mr Albanese had a day earlier chastised comments made by No campaigner Gary Johns at the right-wing CPAC conference on the weekend.
Nationals leader David Littleproud, a fellow No campaigner, joined the chorus of politicians calling out Mr Johns for his comments.
Mr Littleproud said they were “inappropriate” and didn’t advance the cause.
“The Nationals have tried to create an environment for an intellectual conversation about the Voice, no matter what you philosophically believe. In our point of view, our job as political leaders (and) as representatives is to create the right environment,” he said.
“I’m proud of what we’ve done so far.”
Their comments come as the Australian Electoral Commission begins to send out official pamphlets ahead of the referendum and issued a warning about the rise of mis- and disinformation.
Commissioner Tom Rogers said there had been an increase over the last few years, particularly around the electoral process itself.
“It’s all about the electoral process. We’re seeing an increase in (disinformation). We’re seeing an increase in threats to staff, which is very disappointing, and we’re monitoring that very closely,” he told ABC News.
“At the last federal election, we had similar issues. We’re seeing behaviours we haven’t seen previously. The people who work elections are community members … Treat people with respect and civility.”