The Voice referendum: What does my No vote actually mean?

Aussies will head to the polls on October 14 to have their say on the Voice to parliament – but what difference will your No vote really make?

Aussies will head to the polls within weeks to have their say on the Voice to parliament referendum.

In June, the laws that will allow the national poll to be conducted passed parliament, with the government’s Constitution Alteration Bill passing the Senate with 52 votes to 19.

The passage of the Bill through parliament triggered a six-month time frame in which the referendum must be held, with Aussies set to head to the polls on October 14.

But what would a No vote really mean for the nation?

News.com.au put that question to No campaign spokeswoman Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who said a successful No vote would have a major impact on both a symbolic and practical level.

“Australians should feel safe in the knowledge that a vote against the Voice in this referendum is a vote for a country united in the face of an effort to divide us along the lines of race,” Senator Price said.

“It’s a vote for standing together, shoulder to shoulder as equals, to solve the tragic issue of Aboriginal disadvantage.

RELATED: What does my Yes vote actually mean?

No campaign spokeswoman Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Glenn Campbell

“It’s a vote for fulfilling the promise of Australia’s constitution that we can all come from different backgrounds and cultures across the world and play a part in making our nation successful and prosperous.”

Senator Price described the push for the Voice as “emotional blackmail”.

“The great tragedy of the referendum is that those who are pushing the Voice want to put Australians in a position where they are damned if they do and damned if they don’t,” she continued.

“They say Australians are racists if they oppose the Voice, they say that we’ll be embarrassed internationally if we vote No.

“But the truth is that it’s the Voice activists who are trying to blackmail Australians with these arguments. We are a country that believes in a fair go. We are all equals, we all deserve to be treated the same way in our national rule book.

“It’s why our national anthem is the way it is. As every Aussie school kid knows: ‘For we are one and free’. A vote against the Voice is a vote for an Australia that embodies this fundamental principle.”

The voice referendum will be held on October 14. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Meanwhile, Senator Price said claims by pro-Voice activists that a Yes vote would solve Indigenous disadvantage is “wrong and misleading”.

“They talk a big game about ‘closing the gap’, but they don’t say how this will be done. In fact, there are no details at all,” she said.

“But we already know what we need to do to help in my communities.

“Kids going to school, adults working in real jobs, social stability in communities so people want to live, work and invest in them. The divisive Voice won’t do this.”

Senator Price claimed the Voice would “likely make the gap wider”.

“It will drown the Indigenous Australians who most need help – those in remote areas who don’t speak English – with bureaucracy and tie up the community organisations doing good work with a new and expensive government body that can divert funding from real outcomes,” she said.

“Think about this. Right now, taxpayers are spending at least $100 million a day on direct support for Indigenous Australians. That’s $39.5 billion of direct government expenditure a year.

Senator Price says taxpayers are spending at least $100 million a day on direct support for Indigenous Australians. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

“That’s more than we spend on the NDIS ($35.5 billion), Medicare ($31.3 billion) or defence ($38 billion). It’s about the same as the Federal Government’s entire spend on schools and universities ($39.7 billion).”

Senator Price added that the “eye-watering amount” included welfare payments direct to individuals, and also includes “the money splurged on government programs, grants, non profits, and lobby groups – an entire professional activist industry that is meant to help Indigenous Australians”.

“And yet for decades there has been almost no discernible improvement in the lives of Indigenous Australians,” she said.

“In relation to Indigenous recognition in the constitution, there is no doubt there would be widespread support within the Australian community.

“Unfortunately, this is not what the proponents of the referendum have put forward. By voting No to the divisive Voice, Australians would be sending a strong signal to the government to embark on a unifying process that could be supported by all Australians.”