Voice 2023: Cairns homeless indigenous population have ‘never heard’ of the Voice referendum

Cairns’ First Nations homeless population do not seem to know what the Voice to Parliament is — with nearly all of those interviewed saying they have never heard of it.

Most of the First Nations homeless people we asked looked confused as the were told that there is upcoming referendum.

Cairns’ First Nations homeless population do not seem to know what the Voice to Parliament is — with nearly all of those interviewed saying they have never heard of it.

Cairns Post asked around two dozen homeless Indigenous people in city streets and at an encampment at Raintrees Shopping Centrein Manunda what they thought of the Voice to Parliament referendum.

All but one had never heard of the upcoming referendum and none were enrolled to vote.

“What voice?” said one man. “I’ve never heard of such thing”.

Several believed they were being asked about the Voice TV show on Channel 7.

“I dont know of such a thing,” a woman named Sandra Wurrugul said.

Nearly all of them looked genuinely confused when asked what the Voice to Parliament or the Referendum was.

Sandra Warragul has not heard of the Voice but thinks the Government should be doing more to provide the homeless with housing.

Many of the people at Raintrees Shopping Centre where around a dozen or more sleep every night, explained that while many of them spoke several languages — for many of them English was not their first language.

According to an exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Australian, 36 per cent of surveyed voters say they intend to vote yes, with the no vote climbing to 56 per cent.

YouGov poll of 738 First Nations people conducted earlier this year showed 73% of indigenous people support the Voice – although among the poorest and most disadvantaged in Cairns; the only person who had heard about the referendum said it was “something I had seen on NITV” - and yes, she supported it.

Many were also clearly hampered by alcohol and psychosis - with one man insisting he knew about the Voice and had “just flown back from the Iraq war”.

But when asked about the Voice was, it was clear he had never heard of it either.

When it was explained what the Voice was to another he said: “What so they can sell all our lands to the Germans?”

Homeless first nations people finding shelter behind a bus stop to get out of the rain.

Yet at the same time for those who were explained what the Voice was during the interviews, they believed it was “a good thing”.

News Corp asked the Yes23 why they believed homeless First Nations people in Cairns had never heard of the Voice or the referendum.

A Yes23 spokeswoman said: “Yes campaigners have been working with service providers for many months to equip their staff, who work on the front line with homeless people in Cairns, with the information they need to inform the people they support.”

Cairns No campaign leader Peter Fitzgibbon said “if you had of asked non-indigenous homeless people whether they had heard of the Voice they probably wouldn’t have known either — it is a problem”.

When we asked the First Nations people living on the streets what the big issues are and what they could change if they had the power some explained problems with the “child safety system”, but they all echoed the sentiments of Sandra.

“Give us somewhere to live” Sandra said.

“We live on the streets. Give us a home. All homeless people, give us a home.”

Originally published as Voice 2023: Cairns homeless indigenous population have ‘never heard’ of the Voice referendum