Anthony Albanese is under pressure to take greater control of the push for a Voice as the No camp gains traction.
Under pressure to take control of the campaign as his government’s focus is necessarily fixed on the gloomy economy, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese faces questions about his referendum pursuit that some Labor figures consider an uncharacteristic electoral risk, testing his political judgment and rhetorical ability to carry a complex reform.
In the period leading up to polling day , proponents are banking on voters – many of whom are disengaged and will still be forming their opinions – returning to a simple value judgment on whether they think voting Yes is the right thing to do.
Yes23 will shortly move into a Sydney office that will operate similarly to a political party campaign unit. Conversations in weekly meetings of top Yes23 staff – including Liberal operatives Simon Frost and Benn Ayre, campaign director Dean Parkin, unionist Kara Keys and state-based field organisers – now reflect a sense that the national operation is ready to launch from the first of July.
No thought is yet being given within Labor circles to pulling the referendum or radically redrawing it,. Some MPs and Labor hardheads calculate that a referendum loss may dent Albanese’s authority but would not be disastrous for his government. Others worry it could be more severe for the prime minister and have a chilling effect on other ambitious agenda items.
A more centralised guiding force could help the Yes campaign overcome the divisions that have opened up over its messagingInfluenced strongly by the advice of storied Liberal-aligned polling firm CT Group , Yes23 wants to focus its message on constitutional recognition, which its research shows is more widely supported and easily understood than the Voice advisory body.
“The Yes campaign has plenty of time and money to turn it around but unless they make some messaging and structural changes with their narrow casting, they are going to keep losing altitude.” Dr Andrew Hughes, a political marketing expert at the ANU, said the Yes campaign was off to a “terrible” start and had failed to counter what he called the dis- and misinformation of No advocates.