Voice referendum 2023: Townsville live updates, early results

Inside Palm Island's lone pub after the Voice was voted down, a local man sang John Lennon’s Imagine; with an ad libbed “Imagine all the blackfellas” thrown in. CATCH UP

Palm Island, Queensland’s largest discrete Indigenous community, has voted 74.7 per cent yes in the Voice referendum.

Just under half of Palm Island’s enrolled voters - 432 - cast a vote on Saturday. Hundreds of island residents were in Townsville on Saturday at a rugby league carnival.

The referendum was not a major talking point in the island’s lone pub on Saturday night.

The dozen-or-so patrons were playing pool and singing karaoke, with the lyrics up on the big screen rather than referendum coverage.

One of the first songs sung was a local man’s rendition of John Lennon’s Imagine; with an ad libbed “Imagine all the blackfellas” thrown in.

Palm Island polling booth results:

Yes: 323

No: 107

Informal: 2

Kids leap into the sea off the Palm Island jetty at the stroke of 6pm Saturday, as voting booths for the Voice to Parliament referendum closed. Photo: Blair Jackson

Catch up on other Referendum Day updates from the weekend below.

Originally published as Voice referendum 2023: Townsville live updates, early results

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