Seven is set to air a LIVE debate with a difference, and you can take part.
As some readers of TV Blackbox might know, I’ve been working at 7 Spotlight recently. This Sunday we will be airing a LIVE special focused on the Voice To Parliament referendum.
The special is designed to help confused voters reach an informed conclusion before they cast their vote.
As executive producer Mark Llewellyn told TV Blackbox:
“With so much confusion regarding the referendum we thought it was time to bring the YES and NO camps together to deliver their final pitch. This will be an event not to be missed as we get the answers Australians so desperately want to hear.”
The press release below explains the format, but we are also looking for a studio audience to take part in the debate.
Audience members will not only have the chance to visit Seven’s new studios at Media City in Eveleigh, but they will also have the opportunity to ask the YES/NO advocates questions.
If you’re available and interested in attending on Sunday night at 9pm in Sydney, then please email [email protected]
TV fans will enjoy seeing how we’ve transformed the Sunrise set for this special event.
For some exclusive insights into the making of the special, listen to the latest episode of the TV Blackbox podcast in the player below or through your podcast provider.
Official Press release
As the nation prepares to vote on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament on October 14, 7NEWS Spotlight will broadcast a live, one-hour television event to air this Sunday at 9.00pm AEDT on Channel 7 and 7plus.
A defining moment in Australia’s history that will likely shape the path of reconciliation for years to come, 7NEWS Spotlight’sMichael Usher, Liam Bartlett and Sarah Greenhalgh will lead the comprehensive coverage as the program attempts to address for voters the key issues, questions and misinformation on all sides of the Referendum debate.
They will bring together a panel of some of the country’s leading campaigners both for and against the Voice, including Yes advocates Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, and veteran journalist Ray Martin, who is of indigenous heritage, while Independent Senator for Victoria Lidia Thorpe and Shadow Aboriginal Affairs Minister, Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, will represent the No campaign.
Each will state their case before a live audience of undecided voters, who will share their views on the debate in real-time, with an on-screen poll providing unprecedented insight into voting intentions of Australians.
7NEWS Spotlight has travelled to some of Australia’s most remote Aboriginal communities in the country’s red centre – including Pukatja in South Australia and Imanpa in the Northern Territory, both with a combined population of under 650 – to meet with First Nations people and understand first-hand their views on enshrining an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice in the Constitution.
Viewers will also hear from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in an exclusive, sit-down interview with 7NEWS Spotlight’s Michael Usher.
“It’s a defining moment of our times and we’ve travelled the nation in search of answers,” Michael Usher said. “It hasn’t been easy.
“In Hobart, we travelled to a Yes campaign rally with the Prime Minister and then sat down with him for an exclusive interview, during which he answers five key questions from No and Undecided voters. We’ll show you that and strive to give all sides, clarity on this important vote.”
During the live broadcast, viewers will also have the opportunity to voice their voting intentions via 7NEWS.com.au.
If the voice is about giving indigenous Australians a voice, then why don’t we just have indigenous Australians vote on this and whether they want this. It should be about there opinions on whether this is needed and appropriate and we should all entrust in this! Wouldn’t that make sense, it’s not our choice it should be there’s and there’s alone! If like the prime minister says “it’s what indigenous Australians want!” Then letting them vote alone and majority will shine through!