13/10/2023
77% of Mallee residents are expected to vote 'No' at tomorrow's referendum. 🗳️
Recent data is showing that support for the Aboriginal Voice to Parliament continues to plummet across the nation, with Newspoll revealing that 77% of Mallee constituents are expected to vote 'No' at tomorrow's referendum.
The Division of Mallee includes Maryborough, Avoca, Carisbrook, Dunolly and Talbot, along with Mildura, Ouyen, Swan Hill, St Arnaud, Warracknabeal, Stawell, Horsham, Inglewood, Wedderburn, Charlton and Donald.
The National Party of Australia Member for the electorate, Anne Webster, is among the many Coalition politicians campaigning for the 'No' vote.
“While I have already made my personal views clear on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, I encourage everyone to do their research into both cases and make their own informed decision when it comes time to vote,” she said.
“We believe every Australian’s voice should be equal, and we don’t need a bigger bureaucracy, just a better one,” she added.
The Liberal Party of Australia Member for Western Victoria, Bev McArthur, will also be voting against what she considers to be a “Voice of Division.”
“The slide into identity politics is a regression from the hard-fought individual freedoms which constitute liberal democracy,” she said. “We can’t allow it to happen, in any form,” she stressed.
“The Voice is just the latest incarnation of this trend.” she added. “A reversion to our pre-modern human tendencies, where familial or tribal identity matters more than who we are: where individual personality, thoughts, or behaviour are trumped by group identity and loyalty.”
Voting early, Bev's fellow Liberal Party of Australia Member for Western Victoria, Joe McCracken, confirmed he also did not support Labor's proposal.
“Today I voted no,” he confirmed. “No to division, no to identifying people by race, no to inequality. Australia is a country where we believe in fairness, and ultimately, ‘The Voice’ isn’t fair.”
“If we really want to help people, stop looking through the lens of ‘race’,” he stressed. “Start looking through the lens of ‘need’. ‘Need’ does not see skin colour, race, religion, ethnicity, sexuality or any other identity factor. Need is need, regardless.”
“If you care about equality, fairness, and common sense, I urge you to consider voting No,” he concluded.
United Australia Party Senator for Victoria, Ralph Babet, also didn't need any convincing on how to vote tomorrow.
“Vote no, Australia,” he urged. "Reject the Labor Party and their politics of identity and division. We must keep our country united. Race based rights are you guessed it, racist. In Australia, we must all be equal.”
“Creating a racially divisive body that cannot be voted in, and that cannot be voted out, which will then go on to advise the Government, is truly frightening and far removed from democratic principles,” he added. “We must reject it en masse and then punish the Labor Party into oblivion at the next Federal election.”
Victorian Labor Member for Ripon, Martha Haylett, recently campaigned for the 'Yes' vote at an event held at the Maryborough Community Hub, reportedly attended by more than 50 local residents.
“This Saturday, Australians are being asked a simple question,” she said. “Should we recognise the original inhabitants of this land in our nation’s Constitution? Should Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have a say on the issues that impact them, their families and communities?”
“For many of us, ‘Yes’ won’t materially impact much,” she added. “But for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians it’s the first step towards a fairer future. A ‘No’ vote won’t change anything for the better. ‘Yes’ means something brighter - for all of us.”
The Animal Justice Party Member for Northern Victoria, Georgie Purcell, said she wasn’t afraid of voting 'Yes' to what considers to be merely an advisory body.
“I’m voting Yes to a Voice to Parliament, because doing so is a vote for equality and progress,” she stressed. “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have long worked for a Parliamentary body which can advise the Government on issues that impact them.”
“Over past decades, a number of these bodies have been struck down, largely by conservative Governments, because they weren’t constitutionally protected. A Voice to Parliament alone is not enough, but it’s a critical next step, as outlined in the Uluru Statement from the Heart.”
Central Goldfields Shire Mayor Cr Grace La Vella recently announced that the Council – which also includes Chris Meddows-Taylor, Liesbeth Long, Wayne Sproull, Anna de Villiers, Geoff Lovett and Gerard Murphy – will not be taking a public stance on the matter.
“Central Goldfields Councillors, after lengthy discussion, have agreed to remain neutral in our position,” she confirmed in a column recently published by Dunolly newspaper The Welcome Record.
“We represent the whole of the community with a cross-section of beliefs and views,” she added. “It is not our role to direct the community’s choices, it is however our job to inform.”
“Council has also developed a Reconciliation Action Plan in consultation with the Dja Dja Wurrung which is currently with Reconciliation Australia for review, and we hope to adopt this plan in the coming months.”
“That said, not having a formal plan has not hindered our ongoing work with and support for Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders in our community. Regardless of the constitution, every effort should be made to close the gap.”
Grace added that the Referendum should be a discussion rather than a sales pitch.
“I believe both sides of the Yes/No debate are currently doing each other an injustice," she said. "The more we highlight differences, we are causing a divide in thinking. We must allow everyone to own their sentiments and the freedom to express their views at the polls.”
Despite having taken public positions on numerous other divisive social, political and cultural issues, Central Goldfields Shire Council doubled down on its neutral position on the Voice in a statement published last month.
“As a Council, we acknowledge the upcoming referendum on the Voice to Parliament, and we respect our community members’ individual priorities, beliefs, and values,” it wrote.
“We believe in an informed and inclusive democratic process and encourage our community members to access accurate and comprehensive information to aid them in making an educated decision,” it added.
Among the local government areas publicly endorsing the Voice is the City of Greater Bendigo, who join 15 other Victorian Councils in supporting the 'Yes' vote.
“For our part, the City of Greater Bendigo supports recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples through a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament,” it confirmed in a statement.
“Our support for the Voice to Parliament is another demonstration of our commitment to advancing reconciliation for Traditional Owners and local First Nations community, and aligns with objectives in the Council Plan, Barpangu Reconciliation Plan and Social Justice Framework.”
“Initiatives such as Aboriginal place naming of important civic buildings, being a signatory to the recognition agreement Yilingga Marna with DJAARA, Reimagining Bendigo Creek, support for NAIDOC Week and Reconciliation Week, and showcasing First Nations performances, art and culture in our theatres and galleries are in harmony with our support for the Voice to Parliament.”
Hepburn Shire Council, which includes the towns of Clunes, Creswick and Daylesford, also formally expressed their unanimous support for the Voice.
“Our support for the Voice to Parliament aligns with the work Council does towards recognition and reconciliation, including actions within our four-year Council Plan, Community Vision and Reconciliation Action Plan,” said Mayor of Hepburn Shire Council Brian Hood,
“Examples of this work include the award-winning Manna Gums Frontier Wars Memorial near Coomoora; bringing language back to Country with the creek naming of Larni Barramal Yaluk; and supporting a range of community activities that promote understanding and reconciliation” he added.
The Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation, trading as DJAARA, said the choice was simple.
“The Voice will help the government make better policy decisions,” they said. “And we – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples – will be afforded the simple dignity of being included in conversations about matters that affect our lives.”
“Here on Dja Dja Wurrung Country, we are starting to see how the whole community benefits when Dja Dja Wurrung People are part of the conversation. After many years of negotiation and hard work, the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation are increasingly sitting at the table with decision makers.”
Heavy debate is also taking place across social media, with local residents sharing their thoughts on numerous community platforms as the issue continues to drive a wedge between families and communities.
A poll, created in the Maryborough & Goldfields community Facebook group in May, resulted in just 32% of respondents showing support for the Voice, with that figure decreasing to 19% when the same question was posed last month.
