Townsville heading towards ‘no’ referendum result, voters indicate

Townsville voters resentful about crime rates will likely be swayed towards voting no at this weekend’s referendum, an exit poll has revealed.

Townsville voters resentful about crime rates will likely be swayed towards voting no at this weekend’s referendum, an exit poll has revealed.

Of the 71 North Queenslanders who revealed how they voted outside Townsville polling booths on Tuesday, 63% said they voted no.

The Townsville results are in line with the latest national surveys.

The latest Newspoll conducted for The Australian found the country is heading for a 58 per cent no vote, 34 per cent yes result and eight per cent of voters are undecided.

Business owner Phillip Beard said he was balancing his work with handing out ‘no’ forms at the Reid Park pre-polling booth, and although did not consider himself a political person wanted to take a “call to action”.

Townsville volunteer Phillip Beard offers his reasons why he will vote no at the referendum. Photo: Chris Burns

“I may disagree with you but I’ll defend to the death your right to express a different thing,” Mr Beard said.

“They are nice people who are voting yes, and a lot of them I know, but I think they’re misguided.

“I just don’t think that’s a solution.”

Mr Beard supported the Westminster political system and considered a Voice advisory body to be interfering with such.

“We don’t need to tamper with it and if we do, we’re going to end up with, I don’t know, a dog’s breakfast and we’ll be paying a price for it.”

‘No’ voter Phil Potts said he was neutral about the referendum and its outcome, but believed Townsville voters resentful about crime rates would be pushed towards voting no.

Voter Phil Potts leaves the pre-poll booth at the Reid Park pre-polling booth.

“I don’t think the crime will be solved by the Voice either way.

“White kids, black kids, they’re both the same, they’re all doing damage.

“And a lot of people here will vote no because of that.”

Mr Potts was voting no because he was concerned about more national parks being closed or restricted if a First Nations advisory body had influence with the government.

Mary Parker of Condon said if decisions were being made for First Nations people, their voices should be heard.

Ms Parker said sentiment was headed towards No in North Queensland but some people had conflated different issues.

“Hard to say what the result will be in Townsville, it’s towards ‘no’. There are a lot of angry people with the car thefts but that’s not what the Voice is about,” she said.

The Bulletin polled voters at Reid Park and Kirwan for about an hour on Tuesday morning. At Kirwan 44 per cent of respondents said they were voting No (23 per cent Yes and 16 per cent declined to say).

Pollsters reckon about eight per cent of Australians are still undecided about the Voice to Parliament. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

At the pooling booth closer to the city, 35 per cent say they voted No, 30 per cent Yes and 33 per cent declined to comment.

Multiple who voted at the Kirwan polling station on Tuesday said the Voice would “divide us”, that Indigenous organisations got “enough” money as it was and that the amendment was proposed by “inner-city elites”.

Yes 23 volunteer Michael O’Keeffe said he was unaligned with any political party and had not volunteered at polling stations previously.

Yes 23 campaign volunteer Michael O'Keeffe offers pamphlets at the Reid Park pre-polling booth. Photo: Chris Burns

He had done so because he felt the referendum to be a “major social justice issue”.

“My wife and I discussed it at some length and we thought we could make a positive contribution by actually standing up and helping people make a decision,” Mr O’Keeffe said.

Voting had been consistent at the Reid Park pre-polling booth on Tuesday, he said, and there was a relaxed mood.

“I don’t feel threatened at all being here.

“I feel emboldened by the fact that we have a good democracy and that people are comfortable in being in a position where they come across opposing views.”

Neil Clarke, of Kirwan, said he voted No because he did not know the details of the proposed amendment, despite watching parliamentary hearings trying to understand it.

“I think the government has been very devious in the way they’re gone ahead with the advertising,” Mr Clarke said.

“There’s more than enough agencies to service the Indigenous community.”

Isabelle Hancock disagrees.

No campaigners Monty Mahoney and Dino Dibella at the Reid Park pre-polling booth in Townsville on Tuesday. Photo: Chris Burns

“If you go on the theory of ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’, well it’s broken,” Ms Hancock said of support services for Indigenous Australians.

“The quality of life for Aboriginals is clearly lower than for non-Indigenous people.”

She put pencil to paper in support of the amendment “because the current system is not working, and if this is a chance to improve it then why not,” Ms Hancock said.

Will and Andi Cairns voted yes at the Reid Park pre-polling booth in Townsville. Photo: Chris Burns

Will and Andi Cairns voted yes to change the constitution to recognise how Indigenous people have been impacted by European expansion across the world.

“It’s a very small step for everyone to make, but it’s a big step of validating the people who have been here for 60,000 years,” Mrs Cairns said.

“We quite strongly feel it’s something we should do.

“I’m really surprised that an overwhelming number of people who vote no or argue for no just bizarre.”

Originally published as Townsville heading towards ‘no’ referendum result, voters indicate