Comedian Celeste Barber weighs into the Voice referendum

Aussie comedian Celeste Barber took to Instagram to tell her 9.6 million followers which way she will be voting next month. She received a mixed reception.

Just as John Farnham, Cate Blanchett and Cathy Freeman have thrown their support behind the Yes campaign, so too has comedian Celeste Barber.

Barber took to Instagram on Thursday to tell her 9.6 million followers which way she will be voting next month.

“I’ll be voting YES for a Voice to Parliament in the upcoming referendum,” Barber wrote on Instagram.
“The Voice will give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people a say on the issues that affect their communities.”

Following hundreds of positive comments and even more negative ones, Barber was forced to disable the comments section on the post.

Picture of Celeste Barber supporting the YES vote. Picture: Instagram

Cate Blanchett has supported team Yes. Picture: Getty Images

John Farnham’s famous anthem is being used for the Yes campaign.

Brooke Boney said a No outcome would have a profound effect on the nation.

Among the many comments were followers criticising Barber for weighing in on the issue after the legal complications which followed her fundraising efforts during the Black Summer bushfire season.

Millions of dollars raised by Barber following the deadly 2020 bushfires could not be provided to many of those who needed it.

Barber raised $51 million for victims of the catastrophe and after a court dispute it was decided the money could only be spent by the Rural Fire Service on equipment and training.

A benevolent fund was also established to assist injured firefighters and the families of those killed in the line of duty.

“Sorry but last time you advocated for money for fire victims, none of it went to fire victims,” wrote one critic.

In 2021, Barber told the ABC that it broke her heart that the fundraising efforts didn’t fix everything.

Cathy Freeman, Cate Blanchett, Brooke Boney, Adam Goodes, Johnathan Thurston, Evonne Goolagong-Cawley and Ash Barty are also promoting the Yes vote.

Today show newsreader Boney has claimed that a failed referendum would have a “profound” and “damaging” effect on the country.

“It's OK if people want to vote no but I’d hope those people have a plan for what to do to improve the situation if the referendum fails and not just be content to maintain the status quo,” she said.

Australian music legend Farnham has permitted his iconic anthem You’re the Voice to be used in a television ad that will encourage voters to vote Yes.

It is one of the few occasions Farnham has allowed his 1986 hit to be used in a commercial, having agreed to license it for an undisclosed sum to Yes campaign outfit Uluru Dialogue.
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