‘Get around it’: Adelaide’s south makes up its mind on the Voice vote
Unley and Seaford may be separated by 35km, but there is no separation when it comes to how residents are planning to cast their Voice vote.
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“Are you guys filming a commercial?”
Nelson the 1973 Kombi van is parked at the front of Unley shopping centre, as is the case wherever we go, he is turning heads.
Car enthusiasts take photos and a young boy asks if he can have a go in the front seat.
But we’re not making a commercial or trying to push a sale, as another shopper wondered.
We’re on day five of our The Advertiser’s Voicewagen tour and Nelson’s second day in the suburbs, after yesterday visiting Gawler, Elizabeth and Henley Beach.
At Unley, in Adelaide’s inner south, we’re hearing the same word over and over: Yes.
The first shopper we speak with is local David Cash, 81, who is carrying his green bags and wearing a National Geographic jacket. Not the most environmentally-friendly clothing choice because of the microplastics, he tells us.
He and his wife are both voting yes – and the reason why is pretty simple.
“I think it’s fair,” he says.
Waiting out the front of the shops is John Seigneur, 45, of Hyde Park.
He says he doesn’t know a great deal about the referendum but he has decided how he’ll vote.
“They’re people, they’re human beings,” he says.
“They deserve to have a voice.”
We catch nine people outside the shopping centre, and all say they will vote yes except Eesha Devgun, 21, who is undecided.
But a jam-packed Sunday itinerary means we can’t hang around too long. We hit the road and head south towards our next destination of Seaford.
As we pull into Seaford Central – yes, another shopping centre – we immediately spot an impressive mop of bright blue hair.
It’s Seaford Heights man Jason Turner, 50, who is loading his shopping into the car before heading home to watch Bathurst 1000. He’s decked out in a Ford T-shirt, which explains the hair colour too.
Jason’s happy to stop for a chat about the Voice to parliament but he says he’s not too sure how he’ll vote
“I’ll wait until tonight’s TV interview and go from there,” he tells us.
Moments later we flag down Tam, 23, also from Seaford Heights, who happens to be at the centre to mail her and her partner’s postal vote.
They’ve both gone with yes.
“I think it should be up to them, once they have a voice, to decide if they want to have a voice at all,” Tam says.
“But I think it’s important that they initially do get a voice.”
Seaford is 35km further south than Unley but here we find just as many people who say they support the Voice.
Jase Dyson, 44, of Hallett Cove, is part Aboriginal and urges Australia to “get around it”.
“Support our natives and get into it. Everyone needs a voice,” he says.
Renata Ratzer, 79, of Seaford, says she’s voting yes “after a fair bit of research”.
“I’ve checked out several legal opinions and it appears to me the Voice has not executive power, it’s just a voice,” she says.
Renata’s quite the character. She pokes her tongue out for a photo and goes on: “And anything that Tony Abbott and Peter Dutton are vehemently against must be a good thing. Please don’t cut that part out of the paper.”
The sole Seaford no voter we find is Charlie Ormsby, 19, who is shopping with Jaya Shreeve, 16, of Hallett Cove.
He says he’s been getting his referendum information from Instagram but admits it hasn’t been much.
We catch a few shoppers picking up supplies on their way to the beach and, with the sun beating down on the carpark, we decide it’s not a bad idea.
We pack up our stuff and, like the Kombis gone before, we head to the coast.
Nelson is right at home as we set wheel onto sand at Aldinga beach and, cruising along the shore, we are again reminded of our celebrity status as his temporary keepers.
We take great delight in tooting hello to kids making sandcastles squealing at the sight of the orange and white van.
Among them are a group from Loxton, in the Riverland, who are on a beach trip over the school holidays. They’re river kids, their mums tell us – loving the beach but still adjusting to the sand.
Asked about the Voice referendum, say they are undecided but leaning no.
Rachel Crockett, 28, says she doesn’t see the benefit and is concerned about possible implications.
“We’ve come down here and we’ve seen lots of promotion about it, lots of posters whereas at home there’s a little bit but it’s not like this,” she tells us.
Alison Flavel, 33, who lives on a farm, has a similar view. She says she’ll look into it more before Saturday.
“I don’t know heaps about it. I’ve heard it on the news but I haven’t taken a lot of notice,” she says.
After encountering a couple of beachgoers who aren’t Australian citizens, including one who admits he’s relieved he doesn’t have to think about it, we meet Vick and Rachael Trebilcock, their daughter Kelly and her partner Aden Hocking.
As their dogs run back and forth from the water, all four say they’re firm no voters
Asked why, Kelly explains: “it will separate us even further than we already are”.
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