Liberal Party Voice to parliament research shows strong No vote in teal suburbs

Fears that Peter Dutton’s rejection of a Voice to parliament may have blown up his chances at reclaiming ‘teal’ seats may be unfounded.

Exclusive: Fears that Peter Dutton’s rejection of a Voice to parliament may have blown up his chances at reclaiming “teal” seats at the next federal election may be unfounded, with Liberal Party research showing the No vote ahead in teal seats.

The research – commissioned by senior Liberal members – follows separate polling conducted in the teal-held seat of Kooyong last month, which also showed that voters were divided.

The two separate polls conducted in the teal-held Sydney seats of Wentworth and Warringah in July – and seen by The Sunday Telegraph – showed that most voters in the traditionally progressive electorates were preparing to vote against the Voice.

In the seat of Wentworth – held by independent Allegra Spender – a poll of 500 voters conducted on July 1 showed 47 per cent of voters planned to vote No, with 34 per cent indicating that they would support the Voice.

The poll showed the remaining 19 per cent said they did not know how they would vote.

Slightly more men than women indicated they would be voting No, with 48 per cent of male respondents indicating they would reject the proposal compared with 46 per cent of female respondents.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s stand on an Indigenous voice to parliament may not be an impediment to winning back teal seats. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The No vote was strongest in the 55- to 64-year-old age group, with 50 per cent indicating they would reject a Voice to parliament, 40 per cent voting Yes and 10 per cent declaring they did not know.

Over in Warringah, separate research conducted by KJC Research last month as part of a broader questionnaire – but which included two questions about a Voice to parliament – also showed strong support for the No vote.

The Liberals have been desperate to reclaim Warringah since the prized former blue-ribbon seat was snatched by teal independent Zali Steggall. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Beach

However, the poll of nearly 700 voters specified they were against a change to the Constitution. Asked whether they supported “recognising Indigenous Australians as Australia’s first peoples”, 55 per cent of voters said “yes”, 37 per cent said “no” and 8 per cent responding “don’t know”.

On the question of whether they approved “altering the Australian Constitution to specifically establish an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice?”, 56 per cent of voters said No, 38 per cent said Yes and 6 per cent said “don’t know”.

Comparing men and women, 59 per cent of female respondents said No compared with 53 per cent of male voters.

The Liberals have been desperate to reclaim Warringah since the prized former blue-ribbon seat was snatched from former prime minister Tony Abbott by teal independent Zali Steggall.

Some Liberals have privately raised concerns Mr Dutton’s strong stance against the Voice may deliver him a tactical win against Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should it fail, but hamper him strategically in the long-term bid to reclaim some of the “teal” seats lost at the past two elections.

While the research shows this may not be the case, one senior Liberal source cautioned against placing too much weight on the results.

“We don’t know how rigorous the polls were,” the source said. Other research has suggested the Yes vote would be stronger in metro regions.

Originally published as Liberal Party Voice to parliament research shows strong No vote in teal suburbs