Indigenous recognition referendum likely to be delayed until 2018

Plan to hold the vote on the anniversary of the 1967 referendum scuppered as deadline pushed back

A referendum recognising Indigenous people in the Australian constitution will not be held next year, scuppering a plan to hold the vote on the anniversary of the 1967 referendum.

The Referendum Council chairs, Mark Leibler and Pat Anderson, said the deadline had been pushed back to allow for better consultation with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, with the final report now due mid-2017. That means the referendum would be unlikely to be held before 2018.