Queenslanders divided over the Voice in first week of pre-polling

A worrying prediction that many made about the Voice may be coming true based on the opinions of Queenslanders leaving pre-polling booths. WATCH THE VIDEO

Fears that the Voice referendum could divide Australia might be playing out across Queensland this week as voters take to pre-polling booths.

Exit polling by The Courier-Mail in which people were asked what they thought about a Voice to Parliament suggests opinion is split among Queenslanders.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE TO SEE WHAT QUEENSLANDERS SAID ABOUT THE VOICE

While many said they did not want the constitution changed, others argued it was important to right the wrongs faced by First Nations people.

Isabella Basillico, 21, from Meadowbrook south of Brisbane, said a successful yes vote would be an important step.

“There has been so many injustices to the indigenous community in the past and this is a step forward to treaty so I definitely believe that it’s important to vote yes,” she said.

Queenslanders have their say on the Voice at pre-polling booths.

Magdalina Blackley, a First Nations woman on Palm Island, said her people “gotta have a voice”.

“We gotta be there, we got to be recognised as people not fauna and flora, And that’s where we’re at today. We still fauna and flora,” she said.

Michelle, a 34-year-old woman from Kingston in Logan disagreed.

“I think it will divide Australia when we want to be all one,” she said.

Tanya Murphy from Cairns said she was voting yes because First Nations people deserve to have a say on issues which impact their future.

“That way we can achieve equality, equality and justice for all and we’ll have better outcomes for Closing The Gap,” she said.

Lorraine Hay from Cleveland in Brisbane said she did not have a problem with a Voice to Parliament, but took issue with constitutional change.

“I don’t like the fact that we’re told this is not our country, our fathers fought for this country and I think it belongs to all of us, including me,” she said.

“It’s so multicultural, that multicultural people we’ve taken in as part of our country not as someone who says it’s my country.”

Bush footy legend Vern Daisy, a Kalkadoon man from North Queensland, acknowledged the “tension” sparked by the referendum but said a representative body in parliament would allow First Nations people to speak for themselves.

“At the moment in Australia, there’s a real gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people when it comes to health literacy, crime, unfortunately, I work in healthcare systems, so I see it every day and I think this is a great step in the right direction.”

Originally published as Queenslanders divided over the Voice in first week of pre-polling