THE ‘Voice to Parliament’ referendum has received a stunning rebuke from the Australian people with the Australian Electoral Commission reporting a 40% ‘Yes’ vote and 60% ‘No’ vote nationally after counting more than 10.5 million votes.
The people of Victoria have returned easily the best result of the states for the 'Yes' campaign with 45.61% of the vote, with only the ACT among the states and territories at 62.21% for the 'Yes' higher. At one stage in the count the 'Yes' vote got to 49%in Victoria before drifting out again late in the count on Saturday night.
It’s a result that wasn’t immediately obvious by lunchtime at the Cowes polling booth, at St Philips Anglican Church Hall in Thompson Avenue, for eample, where ‘Yes’ campaigners were reporting a good response.
“A lot of people have come up happy to show their support. We’re pretty hopeful,” said one of the 'Yes' volunteers..
But that hasn't been reflected in the votes.
Locally, in the electorate of Monash, voters have come out 34.55% for 'Yes' and 65.45% for the 'No' vote, with an even stronger vote in the rest of Gippsland with only 26.97% for 'Yes' and a whopping 73.03% for the 'No' vote.
Monash MP Russell Broadbent started out as a ‘Yes’ early in the campaign but finished up as a ‘No’ on the Voice to Parliament referendum, initially saying we must listen to our First Nations people, however after being contacted by local indigenous elders and considering the division the proposal was causing, ultimately came out against.
"Very clearly I said we must listen to our own Indigenous people, and I did," he said.
He said he had been contacted by local First Nations people, including Kurnai elder Aunty Cheryl Drayton, who were opposed to the Voice.
"They contacted me straight after an interview I did on the ABC and we had a long discussion. Their position was that it will not deliver practical outcomes," Mr Broadbent said.
He said growing division in Australia had also influenced his decision to vote No in the referendum.
Gippsland MP Darren Chester said it was more important to see action locally to close the gap.
"I support the party’s position. The government hasn’t made the case and in my community, we believe empowering local indigenous leaders to develop programs and deliver services is a better approach than a largely symbolic and centralised bureaucracy."