Australia Indigenous referendum set to fail as support dips, poll shows

Support for the inclusion of an Indigenous advisory panel in Australia’s constitution has dipped further, a poll showed on Monday, putting the landmark proposal on track for defeat ahead of a national vote next month.
Voters have swung against a “Voice to Parliament” for the fifth month in a row, a survey conducted for the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper showed, as the government struggles to convince sceptical and undecided voters to vote for the proposal.
Australians will vote in the referendum on Oct. 14, when they will be asked whether they support altering the constitution to set up an Indigenous committee to advise the federal parliament.
The referendum requires a national majority of votes as well as a majority of votes in at least four of the six states in order to change the constitution. The survey, however, showed only the island state of Tasmania supported the Voice.
Since Australian independence in 1901, only eight of the 44 proposals for constitutional change have been approved.