Where you do early Voice referendum voting in Darwin, NT

The official referendum day may be days away but dozens of Darwin voters have already cast their vote. Here’s what they said.

The referendum may officially be more than a week away but a stream of voters has been heading into Darwin city’s early polling centre.

Dozens of Territorians cast their ballot at the Smith St polling location on Thursday, with opinion almost evenly split among those this masthead spoke to.

Most did not want to be named.

One yes voter, Peter Bragg, said the Indigenous Voice to Parliament could only lead to positive changes.

“I think it’s a sensible decision to do … I mean, the world’s not going to end, it’s only a Voice towards parliament,” he said.

Peter Bragg is voting Yes in the referendum. Picture: Annabel Bowles

“I voted yes, I think the status quo isn’t working and I think it’s time to try something new … listening is at least a good step in the right direction,” another Yes voter said.

One no voter this masthead spoke to said there were “unaddressed” questions about the Voice. “There’s a lot of media hype surrounding the Yes vote and a lot of political influence,” she said.

Others who voted No said they believed the Indigenous Voice to Parliament would divide Australians.

“Everything that Jacinta Price tells us about it (is why I’m voting no) and why it’s just a terrible thing to do, we don’t know what it means,” one voter said.

“We should be one people. I don’t think there should be a Voice whether you’re Greek, Italian, Aboriginal … we should just be one community,” another No voter said.

However one man said he thought No campaigners were the ones “creating division”.

One voter said he voted yes because he thought it was “the right and fair thing to do” but said he was “not at all confident” the referendum would lead to an overall Yes.

Gregory Thompson is voting Yes in the referendum. Picture: Annabel Bowles

But another Yes voter, Gregory Thompson, said he was “very confident” the Voice would get up.

“I reckon we need a direct Voice to the government, Yes is the way to go and that’s the only way we’re going to get improvement for our people, my people,” the Aboriginal man said.

Another Indigenous man said he voted yes but was not convinced his people needed a Voice to Parliament.

“I think that we should be recognised. I guess the flip side is I’m not sure if we need a Voice … I don’t know if we already have enough people to represent us in parliament,” he said.

“I think that’s sort of where there’s a bit of a divide or not as much detail about why

but I went ‘Yes’, because (hopefully) it gets us that one step closer.”

One No voter said parliament alone should have the capacity to improve outcomes for First Nations people.

“I voted no, just because I figured that if things can change, people can change it in the parliament as is – government can always improve,” he said.

Another No voter said she thought it was hard to find “straight up” information that was not influenced by either side.

“I voted no, I just didn’t understand the outcome that would happen once it’s voted yes,” she said.

Originally published as Where you do early Voice referendum voting in Darwin, NT