With concerns raised about the Electoral Commission distributing unedited information from the opposing cases on the upcoming referendum, the ABC has provided useful fact checking of the material.

The AEC explains on its website that it is only required to distribute the information to Australian voters. “The AEC was not involved in the development of the content in the Yes and No cases. The words in the Yes and No cases are as supplied by the respective parliamentary committees who wrote each case”.

Immediately after publication of the information, Constitutional lawyer Greg Craven expressed his dismay that a comment from him had been included in the No camp's material.

Craven, who intends to campaign in favour of the Voice, told the ABC he had asked Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to take action before the pamphlet is sent to households or he will contact the Electoral Commission.

Fact checking both sides’ material, the ABC reported that the Yes campaign material focuses on the positive case for Indigenous recognition, making claims about disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and the effect of the 1967 referendum.

On the No side, claims were made about the National Indigenous Australians Agency and defining a treaty.

Readers can click on tabs which fact check assertions by both campaigns about constitutional recognition in other countries, treaties and governments, closing the gap and constitutional conventions.

Sophie Arnold
E-news Editor
ABC Friends