Maranoa, the No capital of Australia

The electorate where the highest percentage of Australians rejected the Voice to parliament has been revealed.

Maranoa, in southwestern Queensland, has done it again.

After returning the highest No vote of any electorate in Australia at the last referendum, when Australians were asked to vote on whether to become republic in 1999, it completed the double by recording an 83.99 per cent No vote in the Voice to parliament referendum, again the highest in the country.

Maranoa takes in a huge part of southwest Queensland. Picture: Australian Electoral Commission.

The largely rural seat takes in Toowoomba in the east, and extends as far as the border with the NT in the west.

Covering 731,297 square kilometres, Maranoa is three times the size of Victoria and the largest electorate in Queensland.

It includes towns such as Kingaroy, the peanut capital of Australia, Dalby, the commercial centre of the Darling Downs wheat region, Roma, home to Australia’s largest cattle sales yards, Birdsville, home of the famous Birdsville Races and Longreach, the birthplace of Qantas.

Famous former residents include cricketer Matthew Hayden, rugby league legends Arthur Beetson and Darren Lockyer and Australian Diamonds netball Laura Geitz.

Local legends include Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden.

The seat is named after the Maranoa River, which runs through it, and has long been a National Party stronghold.

Its current sitting member is Nationals leader David Littleproud, who has held the seat since 2016.

He won it again at the last federal election with a majority of 22 per cent, which makes it the safest Coalition seat in the country.

The Birdsville races are among Maranoa’s claims to fame. Picture: Dan Peled / NCA NewsWire.

The 2021 Census showed Maranoa is home to just over 150,000 people, with more than 40 per cent of its residents aged over 50.

It has a higher Indigenous population than both the Queensland and national averages, with 7.5 per cent of the population identifying as Indigenous.

Only 5.3 per cent of its residents have attended university, and its residents have a median weekly income of $663 per person, below both the Queensland and national average.

Nationals leader David Littleproud has been Member for Maranoa since 2016.

More than 80 per cent of residents were born in Australia, and 42 per cent of the Maranoa population identifies as being of Australian ancestry, followed by English, Irish and Scottish. Nearly eight per cent are German.

After Maranoa, the next five electorates with the highest percentage of No votes are also in Queensland.

Flynn recorded a No vote of 83.92 per cent, Capricornia 80.99 per cent, Hinkler 80.94 per cent, Dawson 80.80 per cent and Kennedy 80.79 per cent.

They were the only electorates in Australia where the No vote exceeded 80 per cent.