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Australians to reject Indigenous Voice in referendum - final YouGov poll

Australia has never recognised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in its constitution
Australia has never recognised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in its constitution

Australians are set to overwhelmingly say 'No' to a proposal to constitutionally recognise the country's Indigenous people in a referendum on Saturday, one of the final opinion polls ahead of the vote has suggested.

People from Australia have to vote 'Yes' or 'No' to a question asking whether they agree to alter the 122-year-old constitution to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people, and create a body, called the Voice to Parliament, that can provide advice to the government.

More than four million people have already cast their ballot after early voting began on 2 October.

With less than two days to go before voting day on 14 October, those opposed to the proposal lead the 'Yes' camp by 56% to 38%, according to the final poll by YouGov.

Some 6% of the 1,519 voters polled were undecided.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined with supporters of the Yes campaign

"Our final poll indicates a sweeping 'No' victory, with nearing six in ten voters intending to cast a 'No' vote," said Amir Daftari, YouGov Director of Polling and Academic research.

"Our detailed analysis indicates that it is very unlikely that 'Yes' will win anywhere apart from a number of inner metropolitan seats."

'Yes' leads among the young while older voters overwhelmingly favour 'No', the polls found.

Australia's Indigenous citizens, about 3.8% of the country's 26 million population, have inhabited the land for about 60,000 years but are not mentioned in the constitution and track below national averages on most socio-economic measures.

People against the Voice have described it as tokenism and toothless

Support for the referendum, the first since voters rejected a 1999 proposal to become a republic, has ebbed over the past few months.

Supporters argue the Voice will bring progress for Indigenous Australians, while some opponents say enshrining one group in the constitution would be divisive.

Others against the Voice have described it as tokenism and toothless.

Referendums are difficult to pass in Australia, with only eight referendums being approved since it became a country in 1901.

Constitutional change requires a majority of votes nationwide and in at least four of the six states.