Ted: Hey there, and welcome back to Babbel News – English Only! I’m Ted, English expert here at Babbel, here to guide you through today’s episode.

Before the break last week, I left you with the expression “to go through with a fine-tooth comb” and some clues to help you figure out what it means. Were you able to guess the meaning? Basically, “to go through with a fine-tooth comb” means to look at something very carefully and in great detail. And guess what can help you do just that: the transcript! You can find the link in the episode description.

Today, we’ve got one new story for you about a historic vote on Indigenous rights in Australia and the challenges surrounding it.

Ok, let’s go over the vocabulary from today’s news clip. Our first word is “Indigenous”, which describes people and communities that have lived in a particular place for a long time, usually before colonization. You’ll also hear the terms “Aboriginal” and “Torres Strait people”, which refer to Indigenous peoples in Australia, and “First Nations”, which is used in other parts of the world as well. Next, a “referendum” is when a political or social issue is decided by the people of a country or area in a public vote. And then we have a “proposal”, which in the context of this story means a formal suggestion or plan. And a “poll” is the process of questioning people in order to get information about general opinions. Next, “to be defeated” is to lose or to be beaten in a battle or contest. Then there’s the verb “to prioritize”, which means to treat a task or problem as more important than others, so it can be dealt with first. The next word, “vast”, is an adjective that means extremely large in size, amount or area. And finally, if something is “fast approaching”, it means it is almost here or happening soon. And, with that, let’s head to Australia to hear more.

Reuters: Here in the remote outback of Australia's Northern Territory is Areyonga – one of the Indigenous communities the country's upcoming referendum is supposed to give a voice to.
But as Reuters discovers, the "Voice" campaign is struggling to connect with some of the people it’s aiming to help.

The nationwide vote seeks to change Australia’s constitution to recognize the Aboriginal and Torres Strait people. And create a “Voice to Parliament” to give them a channel for advising the government on matters affecting Indigenous Australians.

Yet, in Areyonga, schoolteacher Tarna Andrews says there are members of her small community who don’t know the details of the proposal.

“Some people are a bit confused what it means, 'yes' and 'no', like, especially the old people and some young because it’s, 'cause [the] community really [needs] more information.”

Andrews explains the problems the community has long faced: a lack of jobs, health services, safe housing, and now, a lack of communication on a vote that supporters say could change the community’s future.

The Voice proposal began with the 2017 “Uluru Statement from the Heart”, a roadmap for Indigenous relations with wider Australia. Supporters say it will bring much-needed progress to First Nations communities.
 
But the latest polls show the October 14 referendum is on track to be defeated. Some in the “no” camp want the country to prioritize nationwide economic issues. While others say it's unclear what the proposal really covers – and believe it's racially divisive.

Some Indigenous people say it doesn't go far enough. Meanwhile, experts also cite misinformation as a big problem for the Voice. And reaching out to Indigenous Australia can be challenging. Communities are scattered over vast distances and speak more than 150 languages.
 
The Central Land Council is at the forefront of the area’s “Yes” campaign. CEO Les Turner said there had been dozens of information sessions about the Voice across the southern part of the Northern Territory.

“We’ve done it in eight different languages and translated what the referendum is and that’s available on our website. But it’s also upon all Australians to find out what the referendum’s about, what it means.”

Still, during Reuters’s visit to the area, several said they had not even heard about the vote. Over in the more developed Hermannsburg community, where there are better internet services, Conrad Ratara highlighted another problem.

“They just send a piece of paper. I can’t read. Some people can’t read. Some people can hear what you’re talking about. We need people to come.”

A Central Land Council spokeswoman said the group has since also hosted sessions in Hermannsburg and Areyonga. Indigenous Australians make up about 3.8% of the population today. Under colonial government policies, they lost homelands and children suffered forced separation from their parents until well into the 20th century.
 
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said he hopes the referendum will help close glaring gaps in socioeconomic outcomes between Indigenous and wider Australia. But with the vote fast approaching, some in the community like Conrad Ratara fear it may be lost – because many people simply don’t understand it.

Ted: Well, that’s all for today, thanks again for tuning in! I hope you enjoyed the news clip and learned something new. If there are some words or information that you’re not 100% sure about after your first listen, feel free to replay the episode or check out the transcript. You can also look up some of the more challenging vocabulary in a dictionary. And don’t forget that you can always slow down the speed of the audio, giving your brain a little more time to catch up!

Hope to see you again next week, when we’ll be back with more global news stories to help you improve your English listening skills. Bye for now!