David Speirs predicts SA will vote down Saturday’s Voice referendum

State opposition leader David Speirs has predicted South Australia will vote down Saturday’s Voice referendum and hinted he will try to amend the state’s legislated Voice.

State opposition leader David Speirs has predicted South Australia will vote down Saturday’s Voice referendum and hinted he will try to amend the state’s legislated Voice.

On Monday night, Mr Speirs spoke to more than 300 faithful ‘No’ voters at the Adelaide Convention Centre, alongside key campaigners Jacinta Price, Nyunggai Warren Mundine and state Liberal senator Kerrynne Liddle.

It marked the last leg of Price and Mundine’s national speaking tour and came as polls suggested the number of 18 to 34-year-olds voting ‘No’ now – for the first time – outnumbered their peers voting ‘Yes’.

Mr Speirs criticised the state Labor government for postponing elections to the SA Voice, which were originally scheduled for September, by six months to March 2024.

“I think the Voice to parliament could go very wrong, I think it has a high chance of descending into a level of shambles when those elections come,” Mr Speirs said.

“There’s a lot of questions as to how it will work and what will happen with the Voice, and while we do have a bit more detail here in South Australia, we’re absolutely not certain how it will work.”

South Australian Opposition Leader David Speirs at a No Campaign event at the Convention Centre in Adelaide. Picture: NCA NewsWIRE/ Morgan Sette

Aboriginal Affairs Minister Kyam Maher previously told the ABC the delay came over fears the SA Voice was “causing confusion” leading up to the referendum and would be overshadowed by the federal campaign.

“By allowing for more time, we’re giving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in South Australia the opportunity to fully understand how they can get involved and take the time to campaign, with distance from the discussion about the national Voice,” Mr Maher said.

Under Mr Speirs’ leadership, the state Liberal opposition rallied against the SA Voice which was successfully legislated in March this year and continued to oppose a federal body.

“When you spent time in Elizabeth, when you spent time down in my electorate in Hallett Cove in the southern suburbs … I can tell you, you’re pretty certain of what the suburbs are doing,” Mr Speirs told supporters.

“When South Australia votes ‘No’ on Saturday, we will have to take long, hard look at the legislated Voice to state parliament, we’ll have to see how these elections go in March.

“But certainly the party I’m leading in this state is willing to amend the legislation that’s already in parliament if it doesn’t work in this state.”

At the rally, Ms Price also renewed her calls for a Senate inquiry into the effectiveness of Aboriginal land councils which she alleged were not properly audited.

“A lot of the time those reports come back and suggest that it doesn’t look quite right here and there needs to be further investigation,” she said.

“But the inquiries will also allow Aboriginal people who are served by these organisations and sometimes failed by them to personally speak to and provide submission, which is about giving a voice to those individuals.”