If it wasn’t already clear, Labor’s 49th national conference made it plain: the ALP is now bracing for the Voice to parliament to be lost.

This is not a surprise: the downward trend in support for the Voice has been obvious for months and the most recent Resolve Political Monitor showed that, finally, both the prime minister’s personal standing and that of Labor are now affected.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney at the Labor national conference in Brisbane on Saturday. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Two things stood out at the conference: first, the willingness of delegates to privately canvass how Labor will handle the fallout of a loss, and second, Anthony Albanese’s shift in focus in his speeches.

Albanese’s opening conference speech on Thursday contained just two mentions of the proposed Voice but six mentions of the rising costs Australians face, as well as 14 references to affordable housing. And subtly, on Friday, the prime minister promised to “do my best to promote a Yes vote”.