Referendum voting: Live updates across Australia as voters decide on the Voice
Polling booths have closed in four states and the ACT, with counting now underway to determine Australia’s stance on the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
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Polling booths have closed in four states and the ACT, with counting now underway to determine Australia’s stance on the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
The landmark referendum – the first in 24 years – asked voters if they agree to the proposal to recognise the First Peoples of Australia in the constitution through the creation of a new body which would advise the federal parliament and executive government on matters pertaining to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
FIRST RESULTS IN FROM NSW AND VIC
Results from three NSW electorates - Whitlam, Farrer and Parkes - and one Victorian electorate - Wannon - have come in, and all are strongly favouring the No case.
The tallies represent just a couple of hundreds of votes in individual booths.
In Whitlam, 62 per cent of votes were going to No; in Farrer it was 67 per cent and in Parkes it was 86 per cent.
While the first electorate results came in from NSW and Victoria, it is highly likely Tasmania will be the first state to post clear results from today’s referendum.
Polls have suggested Tasmania is also the most likely state to vote in favour of the Voice, potentially giving the Yes campaign a boost early in the evening. Tasmania also has one of the highest proportions of Indigenous voters, with 4.8 per cent of electors identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, according to AEC figures.
Counting is also underway in NSW and Victoria, but with 5.5 million and 4.4 million voters respectively, results from the two biggest states may take a little longer.
FINAL VOTES TRICKLE IN DOWN SOUTH
As voting booths across parts of the state prepare to close, the final voters have tricked in.
In Penrith, Indigenous woman Jaunita said she voted no because Indigenous people represent “just 3 per cent of the population.
“I don’t support it because I have heard of people getting paid to vote yes.”
Another voter, 34-year-old Josh, said he was voting no because, “I don’t altering the Constitution is a good idea for anybody.”
“It’s changing our foundation law. So any changes to that gives government power not people.”
His mother, 64-year-old Kim, voted yes.
“Everybody’s got a right to a voice don’t they?”
- Emily Kowal, Daily Telegraph
‘NO’ CAMPAIGNER ASSAULTED IN ADELAIDE
A ‘No’ campaigner has been the victim of a random assault at a western suburbs polling booth on Saturday afternoon.
A middle-aged man walking into the polling booth at Brooklyn Park Church about 2pm
pushed the ‘No’ campaigner using both of his hands.
The victim, a 21-year-old man from Flinders Park, who did not want to be named, told The Advertiser the incident was unprovoked.
“It was very clear that he didn’t want a ‘How to Vote’ card so all I said is ‘No worries mate, I won’t bother you’ and then that’s when he pushed me.
“It was totally unprovoked. I didn’t encroach him in any way.”
The offender fled the scene without voting.
- Dasha Havrilenko, The Advertiser
NT INTERVENTION ‘WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED’
The widely-criticised Northern Territory intervention would not have happened if there had been an Indigenous Voice to parliament, the NT Chief Minister has said.
Supporting the Yes camp at a polling station in her Darwin electorate of Nightcliff, Natasha Fyles said “the Voice would be huge for the Northern Territory”.
“Things like the intervention wouldn’t have happened if you had that body sitting there looking at government policy,” Ms Fyles said.
“I’m confident Territorians understand this.
“With a high percentage of our Territorians being First Nations people we understand the issues and importance of the Voice so I feel that will be reflected in the ballot box.
“From the conversations I’ve had people definitely understand that this is something that’s come from Indigenous people and from the Uluru Statement from the Heart.”
Ms Fyles called for the territories to be given equal voting rights and powers to the states.
“It’s an example of why the Territory should be a state so that we are equal with the other jurisdictions,” she said.
“We’re our own independent people and a long way from Canberra, and it certainly should be reflected.”
- Fia Walsh and Camden Smith, NT News
FAMOUS FACES JET INTO BRISBANE
The faces of the national No campaign jetted into the Sunshine State on Saturday afternoon and visited an inner-Brisbane voting centre, surprising volunteers.
Former politician and Indigenous Affairs advocate Warren Mundine and Northern Territory Senator Jacinta Price visited Runcorn Heights State School, in Brisbane’s south.
No volunteer Rod Carey said Mr Mundine flew in from Sydney and had his wife with him.
Then 45 minutes later Senator Price arrived with her husband and spent half-an-hour at the voting centre.
“To get two people from the No camp who are on the brochures was really stunning,” he said.
“Normally this is pretty boring stuff with not much joy, just long hours.”
- Toby Crockford, The Courier-Mail
BOB KATTER THREATENS TO ‘KING HIT PEOPLE’
Voting at Townsville Central State School Saturday afternoon, Kennedy MP Bob Katter said he had lost his temper with government officials behind closed doors and had threatened to “king-hit people” over how to improve health outcomes for Indigenous Australians.
The outspoken Federal MP vowed to spend the rest of his life improving life expectancy for Indigenous communities, no matter what the outcome of the referendum would be.
He voted against the Voice to parliament while visiting Townsville on Saturday, which lies outside his electorate of Kennedy, because he did not believe this would offer meaningful outcomes.
He said his first action regardless of the outcome of the referendum was in trying to push through legislation that would create an authority to override government regulations that obstruct regional communities.
Mr Katter’s proposed authority was not the same as a Voice consultation body.
- Chris Burns, Townsville Bulletin
DEMOCRACY DOGS SUPPORT VOTE IN QLD
Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles has spent the day travelling across various voting booths in Brisbane’s northern suburbs.
Miles, who has remained one of the state government’s more vocal Yes campaigners, has supported the push for the Voice today in Griffin, Kallangur, Dakabin and Mango Hill in his state seat of Murrumba.
He told The Courier-Mail all voters and volunteers have been friendly.
The Deputy Premier also said he was again reminded of the importance of the Voice after speaking today with “my friend” Mary Doctor, deputy chair of the national peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing.
“It reminded me how much I’d learned from listening to her voice and how much I hope her people can have a permanent Voice to Parliament,” he said.
Miles said his daughter, Bridie, had also enjoyed the sunny day meeting a number of democracy dogs – like Matilda (pictured).
- James Hall, The Courier-Mail
PAUL KELLY BEGS VOTERS TO ‘ASK YOUR HEART’
Prominent Yes campaigner Paul Kelly is in Alice Springs for a free concert at Anzac Oval.
The Aussie music legend said it was a “fitting place to be this weekend”, sharing a photo with Indigenous filmmaker Rachel Perkins.
“Indigenous Australians have a special place in our nation derived from their deep history of looking after this land for over 60,000 years,” Kelly posted on social media.
“The question tomorrow is: are we prepared to give them the fair go that has been denied them for 250 years? Or keep the status quo and keep them out in the cold. Ask your heart.”
- Fia Walsh, NT News
NO CAMPAIGN ACCUSED OF ‘NASTY TRICK’
The No campaign has been accused of a “nasty” trick to scare voters by blasting out a text warning them to avoid a fine by voting against the Voice.
South Australians Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has lodged a complaint with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) alleging the No campaign text was a breach of election rules preventing “misleading or deceptive publications”.
A text message sent to voters on Saturday by Fair Australia, the official organisation behind the No campaign, read “don’t risk a fine! Get to a polling place today and Vote No to the Voice of Division!”.
Ms Hanson-Young shared a screenshot of the text on X, formally known as Twitter, and said the “nasty No campaign still using dirty lies, deception and fear right to the end”.
“Voters receiving these text messages today scaring them into voting No.
“This is why we need stronger laws on political advertising.”
News Corp has confirmed Ms Hanson-Young lodged a complaint to the AEC regarding the text message.
“Today’s the day,” she captioned the video.
POLLING CENTRES CLOSED EARLY
Many countries have already closed their polling centres because of rules that say they can’t stay open longer than 6pm Australian time, when the booths close here.
For example, because of the time difference - the UK is 11 hours behind Australia - voting in person finished on Friday.
However, in Japan which is two hours behind Australia, voting in Tokyo and Osaka in Japan will close at 3pm.
The Australian High Commission in Wellington and the Australian Consulate-General in Auckland, did not open their voting centres on Saturday. The last day for pre-polling in New Zealand was on Friday.
Aussies were able to vote at 107 different overseas in person voting centres and 40,000 votes have been cast so far, including 15,000 in London.
Even those in Antarctica can vote - but by telephone.
In the 1999 republic referendum 87 people working in the South Pole voted.
“The latest overseas centres can open is 6pm in Western Australia,” Evan Ekin-Smith from the Australian Electoral Commission said.
Australians in Israel have been asked to mail their postal votes after the Tel Aviv polling centre was closed prematurely due to concerns for public safety.
The Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv closed in person voting at 4pm on Thursday due to the ongoing conflict with Hamas.
- Julie Cross
WILL REFERENDUM BUCK THE APATHY TREND?
The Voice referendum set a record for early voting, with 6.13 million Aussies casting their ballot in the pre-poll period.
But how many voters will stay home and not bother to turn up at all? Despite the compulsory nature of voting in Australia, it‘s becoming an increasing trend.
When Aussies voted on the republic referendum in 1999, the turnout was just above 95 per cent - a level of democratic participation we‘ve not seen since.
Ever since then, the turnout trend has been going down - declining from 94.85 per cent at the 2001 election, to 91.89 per cent in 2019.
At the 2022 federal election the turnout rate dropped again, to 89.82 per cent, meaning more than one in ten people who were enrolled to vote chose not to do so.
- David Mills
WHEELCHAIR-BOUND MAN UNABLE TO CAST VOTE
A wheelchair-bound man has slammed a local council after he was unable to cast his vote in Saturday's referendum because his local polling booth wasn’t accessible.
Shane Hryhorec, 38, couldn‘t cast his vote on Saturday because a polling centre on Kyle Pl at Port Adelaide had no ramp, displaying a disabled parking sign outside.
Mr Hryhorec took aim at the Port Adelaide Enfield Council, labelling the ordeal a “joke”.
“Port Adelaide Enfield Council has a responsibility to make sure that any voting that happens in their municipality is accessible and inclusive,” he said.
“This should not be happening. It's an absolute joke.”
Staff at the centre offered Mr Hryhorec the opportunity to cast his vote outside but he was unable to because his driver’s license shows a Victorian address.
“They said to me on this day, they cannot accept interstate voters,” he said. “They can on any other day, just not on voting day.”
Port Adelaide Enfield Council was contacted for comment.
- Riley Walter in Adelaide
NEW VIC PREMIER CASTS VOTE
Premier Jacinta Allan cast her Yes vote at Epsom Primary School in Bendigo on Saturday morning.
“We’re all focused on getting a strong, positive result here in Victoria and across the country,” she said.
“Something needs to change. We need to bring about change to the way that we listen to the Indigenous community and then work with them to get better outcomes.
“This is what listening can achieve, this is what the Voice is about and that‘s why I’m voting yes.”
- Mitch Clarke
A moment in history: The Voice vote in photos
TASSIE VOTERS ‘HALF AND HALF’
With polling data suggesting Tasmania will be the only state heading towards a majority Yes vote, The Mercury found there were more Yes campaigners at booths on polling day.
After travelling across the greater Hobart area, only one No campaigner was found at Lindisfarne Community Activities Centre, and he believed the ballots were evenly split among voters.
“There will definitely be a No, but it might not be a No in Tassie,” Pete Nielsen said.
“But here at the community centre, the voters are about half and half.
“Everyone’s been talking about it for that long, we’re pretty much over it. We’ve been waiting for the day to put your vote in and then that’s it.”
At New Town Primary School, Mary Bell said if Australia votes No, it will leave a “black mark” on the country.
“Everyone in the country will move forward except our First Nations and we should be exactly the same as every other country,” she said. “They’re not asking for much.”
- Tia Ewen, The Mercury
WHERE THE ‘INDIGENOUS VOTE’ IS HIGHEST
There are Indigenous people voting Yes and Indigenous people voting No in today's referendum, but what parts of Australia have the greatest proportion of First Nations voters?
According to the Australian Electoral Commission, of the 17.5 million Australians on the electoral roll, just over half a million (534,209) are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
The state with the highest proportion of Indigenous voters is actually Tasmania. Of the island state‘s 407,018 enrolled voters, 19,551 - or 4.8 per cent, are Indigenous.
Queensland has the second largest cohort of Indigenous voters in the country, with 149,590. That‘s 4.1 per cent of all electors in the Sunshine State.
The state with the most Indigenous voters (180,675) is NSW, but with 5.5 million electors, that comprises just 3.2 per cent of the total.
Of the other states, the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voters is 3.4 per cent in WA, 2.14 per cent in SA and 0.9% in Victoria.
In the territories, 1.87 per cent of voters in the ACT are Indigenous, while in the Northern Territory, the proportion is 30.8 per cent.
- David Mills
‘BORN INTO A COUNTRY THAT WAS BASICALLY RACIST’
Indigenous elders on the Gold Coast are urging voters to say Yes to the Voice to Parliament, saying today's referendum was the step forward they had been waiting for since that of 1967.
Handing out Yes flyers at the Varsity Lakes Community Centre polling booth, Aunty Joyce Summers said the time for recognition had come.
“Everyone’s pretty calm here - we’ve been having some pretty big conversations with the family though,” she said.
“I was born into a country that was basically racist, because the climate that I was born into, we didn't have any rights.
Her daughter Estelle Weeks was campaigning alongside her mother and said they would “continue on” if the Voice to Parliament failed.
- Jessica Paul and Lisette Drew at the Gold Coast Bulletin
‘UNACCEPTABLE’ QUEUES IN MELBOURNE
Voters from Melbourne‘s central business district have reported long queues at the nearest polling booths.
Upwards of 40,000 voters live in the CBD, but the nearest venue the Australian Electoral Commission could secure for a polling booth was at the Docklands.
The AEC said in the lead up to the referendum that the venues it typically used for federal elections had been booked out for other functions by the time writs were issued for the Voice vote.
Two hour queue to vote in Docklands after â¦@AusElectoralComâ© failed to set up a polling booth in the CBD. This is unacceptable in a democracy, especially given we have compulsory voting. #auspol pic.twitter.com/YA714qWB79
— Nicholas Reece (@Nicholas_Reece) October 14, 2023
Deputy Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece said on Twitter there were two hour lines at the Docklands booth.
“This is unacceptable in a democracy, especially given we have compulsory voting,” he said.
An AEC spokesman said it had contacted more than 30 venues in the CBD to be used as a polling centre. But the spokesman said none of the sites were available in the five-weeks leading up to polling day.
- Mitch Clarke and Craig Dunlop
‘BIG DAY FOR AUSTRALIANS’
Teal MP Monique Ryan, who holds the affluent Victorian seat of Kooyong, posted a video to her Instagram account this morning urging people to vote Yes.
She said it was a “big day for Australia” and an opportunity to recognise Indigenous people in the constitution and give them “a voice in Parliament”.
The MP ousted former Liberal titan Josh Frydenberg from the seat at the last federal election.
A survey of 1338 Kooyong residents on the referendum question in July showed 43.6 per cent backed No, 42.5 per cent Yes and 14 per cent were unsure.
- Julie Cross
‘SILENT VOTERS OUT THERE’
Labor’s Marion Scrymgour cast her vote in Alice Springs about 10.30am Saturday, telling Sky News she was optimistic “there are many silent voters out there … and I’m hoping that they will vote Yes”.
“It’s time that this country embraced its Aboriginal people and said ‘Yeah, we hear you, and we see you, and now we want you to be part of what we think is the best country in the world’,” she said.
The first Indigenous woman elected to NT parliament in 2001, Ms Scrymgour now serves as Federal member for Lingiari - Australia’s largest geographical electorate that covers almost all of the Territory outside of Darwin.
She said she believed the Voice could help bring practical improvements to the lives of Indigenous Territorians.
“Whenever you involve Aboriginal people in policy, in decision making, to make a difference, we do see a change happening - and this is what’s really important about this referendum,” Ms Scrymgour said, flanked by a group of Yes supporters.
- Fia Walsh on Lingiari electorate from Darwin for the NT News
‘PEOPLE HAVE TO MAKE UP THEIR OWN MINDS’
Palm Island man and leader of the 2004 riots Lex Wotton said today was a day for people who might feel misrepresented.
“People have to make up their own minds about how they feel about things.”
“What’s the no side’s solution? Is it the status quo? What’s the yes side’s solution? A body that sits down and doesn’t have a voice?” Mr Wotton asked.
Mr Wotton was convicted of inciting the riots after the death in custody of Cameron Doomadgee and served 19 months in jail before being released on parole in 2014. He then led the community through the fight to receive legal recompense.
The Federal Court in 2016 ruled the conduct of certain police officers related to the riot was unlawful and discriminatory and ordered the State Government to pay $30 million in compensation.
At the island’s polling booth on Saturday, Mt Wotton was not comfortable saying which way he voted, but wanted people to vote and have their voice heard.
- Blair Jackson on Palm Island
KEY NO CAMPAIGNER MUNDINE ‘ENERGISED’
Warren Mundine said he was feeling “energised” by the No campaign volunteers.
“I’m feeling good this morning,” he said.
“No matter what the result is we have to come together and work together. The good news is that everywhere I’ve gone in Australia, yes and no, People want practical outcomes.”
Despite Mr Mundine’s praise for the No volunteers, they’ve been scarcely seen on the Prime Minister’s referendum day tour. Sticking to booths with high Yes turnouts, the Sunday Telegraph is yet to lay eyes on a No campaigner while following the PM this morning.
- Jessica McSweeney
’IT’S NOT FAIR ON ALL AUSTRALIANS’
At Rockhampton’s Park Avenue State School polling booth, Indigenous local Joe Cleland was voting ‘no’ and unafraid to say why.
“It’s not fair on all Australians, that’s the way I look at it,” he said
“I mean, you were born in this country, you’re part of this country and I just don’t think it’s fair… And we don’t really know what Albanese has got in store.
“We, the Indigenous people, have already got representatives in parliament… and I think there’s a lot more stuff involved in it that we don’t know about.”
- Darryn Nufer
’RUDE, ABRASIVE LANGUAGE’ AT POLLING STATION
Experienced campaigners from both sides, who have volunteered in past elections, have been left disappointed by the amount of abuse they have copped in Ipswich, south-west of Brisbane.
No campaigner Jeanette Glasgow was greeting voters at Glebe Road Kindergarten & Pre-School in the Ipswich suburb of Newtown.
“I was shocked by the rude and abusive language, it has happened several times already this morning. People in cars have been shouting as they drive past,” she said.
Yes campaigner Carol Nevin, at the same Ipswich booth, has volunteered at eight past elections.
“People will pass and say funny things, but you just do what you want to do and smile and wave. I’ve seen the good and the bad in every election,” she said.
- Toby Crockford in Ipswich
CALL FOR PM TO ‘RESIGN’
Pauline Hanson’s chief of staff James Ashby called on Anthony Albanese to resign as Prime Minister.
Mr Ashby said No voters were afraid of being branded as racist and said that many people he spoke to in rural areas were “frustrated” with Mr Albanese’s Yes campaign.
“I think there’s two things that people of this country want to hear from the Prime Minister tonight. One is an apology for what he’s put this country through, and the second will be his resignation as prime minister,” Mr Ashby said.
“I don’t think there’s a long future for Anthony Albanese following this referendum.
- Eleanor Campbell, NewsWire
‘IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A STRUGGLE FOR US’
The daughter of Alfred Neal, one of the nation’s greatest Indigenous leaders who was instrumental in the success of the 1967 referendum, has voted in favour of the Voice to parliament at a polling booth in Yarrabah, Far North Queensland.
Josephine Murgha, a former Yarrabah Aboriginal Shire councillor, said she voted yes “to end the struggle”.
“It has always been a struggle for us,” Ms Murgha said.
“My father, Alf Neal, fought for the 1967 referendum when we were counted. He died this year, he was 101.”
His granddaughter Susan Neal, a school teacher, said she voted yes for him.
“I hope his dream of recognition is achieved. It’s a very emotional day for me,” she said.
- Isaac McCarthy in Yarrabah
JESINTA FRANKLIN URGES YES VOTE
“You, along with your dad are survivors of the oldest living culture in the world and that is something to always be proud of and something we will continue to always celebrate with you. "We love you and we hope tomorrow is the beginning of a brighter, more hopeful and inclusive future for Australia.”
- Julie Cross
NT’S FIRST INDIGENOUS FEMALE MP VOTES YES
“It’s time that this country embraced its Aboriginal people and said ‘Yeah, we hear you, and we see you, and now we want you to be part of what we think is the best country in the world’,” she said.
The first Indigenous woman elected to NT parliament in 2001, Ms Scrymgour now serves as Federal member for Lingiari - Australia’s largest geographical electorate that covers almost all of the Territory outside of Darwin.
She said she believed the Voice could help bring practical improvements to the lives of Indigenous Territorians.
“Whenever you involve Aboriginal people in policy, in decision making, to make a difference, we do see a change happening - and this is what’s really important about this referendum,” Ms Scrymgour said, flanked by a group of Yes supporters.
- Fia Walsh in Darwin
OPPOSITION DEMANDS AUDIT INTO FUNDS
Speaking from Perth, Senator Cash said regardless of the result tonight, Mr Albanese owed an explanation to the public and called for a probe into government funding.
“Mr Albanese decided to pursue politics over good policy and tomorrow he needs to explain to the Australian people why he chose to go down this path. It has been a very traumatic last 12 months for the majority of Australian people,” Senator Cash said earlier.
“We need to do what we all want to do, and that is achieve the best possible outcome for our most disadvantaged Australians. That starts with an audit of the $30 billion a year that we fund out of Canberra,” she said. “Tomorrow our focus needs to be on uniting the country and moving forward together.”
- Eleanor Campbell, NewsWire
‘NO’ CAMPAIGN SIGNAGE RIPPED DOWN
A woman was spotted ripping down ‘No’ campaign signage outside a Voice to Parliament referendum polling booth this morning. Footage shows the woman removing a ‘No’ sign from the fence at Grange Primary School, where hundreds of South Australians were casting their vote.
A witness said the act was “undemocratic” and shouldn’t be allowed.
“She was just so brazen about it. It’s just not part of the democratic process,” the witness said.
“She seemed to be so proud to be doing it. It was very disappointing.”
Opinion polls have consistently pointed to a victory for the ‘No’ case in the referendum, but Yes campaigners were not giving up, believing many undecided voters could still hold the key to a surprise victory.
- Antimo Iannella
PM FIRES UP AT PRESSER
“There has been some extraordinary ignorance including from sections of the media who know better during this campaign,” he said.
Despite asserting he is still confident of a Yes win, the PM returned to criticising the media four times during his final pitch, saying debate over the length of the Uluru Statement of the Heart was “absurd”.
He refused to answer questions about how he will keep his promise to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart if the referendum fails.
- Jessica McSweeney
SYDNEY MAYOR ‘MOVED’
“It’s very moving to be here it’s a very important it’s good to be here to see people here,” she said.
The pair were in Redfern rallying for last minute votes for the Yes campaign, undeterred by the latest polling which predicted a No win.
“Clover and I have been around a number of booths and it’s quite clear Sydney is voting yes,” Mr Greenwich said.
“They have accepted the invitation to say yes to the Voice to being honest about our shared history … I think Sydneysiders should feel very proud.
- Anton Rose
QUEUES SNAKE AROUND BONDI SURF CLUB
Surf lifesavers, brothers Alex Mars, 27, and Jack Mars, 22, were all smiles as they cast their votes - and it was a resounding ‘yes’ from the pair of them.
“It was an easy decision for me,” Alex said, with Jack adding: “The government makes decisions for the Indigenous community, all they are asking is to have representation”.
Cradling his five-week-old baby girl, Isabelle, with Yes flyers in one hand and Mackie a poodle cross in the other, nothing could stop Paul Denyer from his volunteer duties.
The Bondi father, originally from Queensland, said all Aussies needed to do something to help close the gap, and said he was “optimistic” about how the vote would turn out.
- Emma Cam
BIG TURNOUT IN BRISBANE
Amy MacMahon said she was feeling cautious but “optimistic”.
“There’s a great turnout here at the Brisbane State High polling booth.”
Voters were already enjoying a democracy sausage after voting.
Ryan Briggs, 21, said he had been waiting in line for about 15 minutes.
“I think it’s nice to be able to live in a country where everyone can work together to establish something. That’s why I’m casting a yes vote,” he said.
- Mohammad Alfares
OUTSPOKEN SENATOR CASTS VOTE
Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe cast her vote at a polling station in Melbourne’s suburb of Reservoir, saying the referendum campaign exposed where racism exists in Australia. Wearing a top emblazoned NO, the controversial politician remained defiant.
“Racism is a cancer. Racism is an illness, it makes people sick,” Ms Thorpe told reporters.
“This referendum has shown where the cancer is in this country, and where we need to heal this country.”
“Where we need to put our efforts as a nation to stamp out this ugly thing called racism.”
NO SIGNS DOMINATED AT SA POLLING CENTRE
The referendum at Flagstaff’s Primary School in South Australia was very quiet, and at times more filled with volunteers and campaigners rather than voters.
The majority of campaigners there were NO voters having organised a series of A-frame stands and a long row of posters attached to the fence.
The YES and NO campaigners were advised not to set up their stands too close to each other by the AEC volunteers, but this was ignored by both sides as neither wanted to lose prime position before the entry.
Most of the voters physically going in to cast their vote on the issue belong to an older demographic, or they are families with young children.
- Dasha Havrilenko
TASMANIANS QUEUE UP
Tasmanian voters have quietly hit the polls, keeping their decision cards close to their chest.
Independent member for Nelson and Yes campaigner Meg Webb said there was a positive energy at the Mt Nelson Primary School polling booth.
“People have mixed views, and others are holding their cards close to their chest, but we’re getting a lot of people very positive and indicating that they are voting yes,” she said.
Indigenous woman Olivia Bayly went to information sessions held by the University of Tasmania, where she came to the conclusion she would vote Yes.
“Of course, the Aboriginal community does have a voice, but they don’t have that place in parliament where the media is going to really pay any attention,” the 21-year-old said.
- Tia Ewen in Hobart
VOTING UNDERWAY IN ADELAIDE
Premier Malinauskas joined by his wife and three children arrived at Brompton voting station to cast their votes just after 10.30am local time. More than 50 voters also queued up at the Brompton voting station in the Adelaide’s inner city to cast their votes.
Voters were treated to a bake good stall selling cookies, cakes, a Sausage sizzle stall and a mobile coffee van.
Campaigners were seen handing out Yes and No voting pamphlets, while banners and signage was hung around the sporting venue.
- Agnes Gichuhi
’THIS IS OUR BIG CHANCE’: TREASURER
Treasurer Jim Chalmers mingled with fellow voters and yes campaign supporters in his electorate, as he waited his turn to vote at the Springwood Central State School.
“This is our big chance in our local community and around the country to do the right thing by the first of us in a way that could lift all of us up together,” he said as he made one last plea to Australians to vote Yes.
“So if you haven’t made up your mind yet, I really urge you to vote for better listening and for better outcomes, doing things differently and doing things better for First Nations people.”
“It won’t cost the rest of us anything to do the right thing here. It’s a very Australian thing to say we will listen to each other and we’ll be there for each other and that’s what today is all about.
- Georgia Clelland
WARNING OVER ‘NUTTY’ CONSPIRACIES
Australia’s Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers has urged Voice campaigners to stop harassing voters outside voting booths while flagging “nutty” conspiracy theories.
To kick off the opening of thousands of polls across the country, Mr Rogers said for the most part voting has been “very orderly” but conceded there had been some bad behaviour.
“We’ve had some disappointing activities, particularly outside the polling places and some of our voters have been hassled by some of the campaigners,” Mr Rogers said.
There has been “a whole range” of “nutty” and “bizarre” conspiracies theories circulating online, the election boss said.
He stressed that Australia had one of the most transparent voting systems in the world.
“If you’ve got a question go to our website and ask a member of the AEC and don’t believe some of that nonsense,” Mr Rogers said.
- Eleanor Campbell, NewsWire
EMOTIONAL PM MAKES FINAL PITCH
The Prime Minister has given his final pitch to Australians heading to the voting booths today.
Appearing emotional at times, Anthony Albanese said the Voice is a “hand outstretched” to Indigenous Australia.
“I stand here today as the 31st Prime Minister of Australia to say this is an opportunity for Australians to unite, to be strengthened by reaching out to our most vulnerable citizens,” he said.
Receiving a round of applause from Yes volunteers at Balmain Public School on Saturday morning, the prime minister shot down suggestions this will divide the nation.
“Martin Luther King said the arc of history bends towards justice, and it does bend. We have come a long way in my lifetime,” he said.
Posing for selfies with excited children (and their dogs), the Balmain booth did not have any No signs or volunteers.
“This week of all weeks with so much hatred on display in the world, this is an opportunity for Australians to show kindness,” he said.
– Jessica McSweeney
HEMSWORTHS ADD STAR POWER TO YES VOTE
Australian acting icon Chris Hemsworth has confirmed he will vote Yes in the referendum, alongside brother Luke who shared a heartfelt post outlining his reasons.
In an Instagram post that was reshared by Chris, Luke revealed he had just spent a week in the Kimberley on Ngarinyin country and after consulting with local Indigenous community members would be supporting the referendum.
“It’s incredibly unfortunate that the resources behind this juggernaut of a referendum can’t be used immediately to bring real world change to our Indigenous brothers and sisters who need it the most but it hasn’t so what’s the next step?,” he said.
“l’ll be voting yes because our brothers and sisters deserve a Voice.“
See their full statement below.
– Clare Armstrong
FIRST VOTE IN ON PALM ISLAND
Florence Joyce-Izzard, 75, was the first person to vote on Palm Island when booths opened at 8am.
She voted yes because she felt Indigenous children committing crime needed to be addressed differently than it was at the moment.
The 1967 referendum was the first time she voted – “it gave us our rights back” – and she’s passionately voted ever since. A Palm Island police officer suggested she go and vote on that day in 1967, and she got a shock when she found out she was on the electoral roll. Ms Joyce-Izzard voted yes to help spread the history of her four tribes to her grandchildren.
There was no early voting station on the island, which is Queensland’s largest discreet Indigenous community.
– Blair Jackson on Palm Island
HOW DO WE KNOW WHO WINS?
In order for the Voice to parliament to succeed, there must be a special double-majority – a national majority of Yes votes, and a majority in at least four out of the six states (NSW, Victoria, QLD, SA, WA and Tasmania). The votes from citizens in the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory go towards the national tally only.
All votes from polling booths will be counted on the night as will pre-poll votes and those postal votes already received.
This means we should have a reasonable idea of the result that night unless it is very close.
In that case, we would need to wait until all postal votes are counted and because all votes are counted twice to double-check the result, that could take weeks.
- Andrew Koubaridis
NSW PREMIER OPTIMISTIC FOR YES
NSW Premier Chris Minns and Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney have cast their vote at Carlton South Public School, saying they are optimistic for the outcome.
Minister Burney pushed for Australians to vote Yes.
“This is your opportunity to put your shoulder to the wheel of history and give it a push and therefore we will have better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,” she said.
Premier Minns said a Yes vote will not impact Australia’s representative democracy
“It won’t affect our constitutional arrangements when it comes to the House of Representatives and the Australian Senate. What it will do is give First Nations people a seat at the table and an opportunity to be spoken to directly about policies and issues that affect that community,” he said.
– Emily Kowal
‘LAST CHANCE’: PLIBERSEK RALLIES IN REDFERN
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek says she isn’t even contemplating a no vote in today’s Voice referendum. Speaking in Redfern this morning, the Sydney MP was rallying for last minute votes with Yes campaigners City of Sydney councillor Linda Scott and activist Thomas Mayo.
“I feel really emotional,” she said
“This is our one chance to change the constitution.
“I’m going to be working every single minute of today … I’m not even gonna contemplate that (failure) we’ve still got hours to go.”
– Anton Rose
UN URGES AUSSIES TO VOTE YES
United Nations human rights chiefs have launched a last-ditch bid to convince Australians to support the Voice and deliver “justice for historical wrongs”.
In a statement released this week, José Francisco Calí Tzay, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, and Surya Deva – the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the right to development – said Australians could help their government “fulfil its human rights obligations” by supporting the Voice and allowing Indigenous Australians “to participate in decision-making that affects them”.
“It will strengthen the participation of Australia’s First Peoples in decision-making related to their political, economic, social and cultural development,” they said.
“First Peoples experience higher rates of disease and lower life expectancy than non-Indigenous peoples due to lack of access to health services, adequate housing and nutritious food.”
– Tom Minear in New York
VOTERS SNAG FIRST DEMOCRACY SAUSAGES AT POLLS
People queued up nice and early at a polling station in East Melbourne, where a sausage sizzle added a carnival atmosphere.
Of the 17.6 million people on the electoral roll, about 9.2 million need to visit a polling place today.
More than 7100 polling places opened at 8am and shut 6pm local time.
See list of voting centres in Queensland, Victoria, NSW and SA.
FINAL EARLY VOTING NUMBERS HISTORY-MAKING
Friday was the biggest single day of pre-polling in Australia’s history with just over one million votes cast, the AEC says. Nearly 6.13 million people voted at an early voting centre, compared to 5.6 million at the 2022 federal election.
This makes the referendum pre-poll period the largest number of votes cast at early voting centres in Australia’s history.
– Maria Bervanakis
ROVE UNDER FIRE AFTER URGING AUSSIES TO BE ‘DECENT’
Rove McManus is copping backlash after a plea for Australians to be “decent for once” and vote Yes in the referendum.
Speaking on The Project, the funnyman claimed the Voice had been “manipulated” and revealed what he claimed was “mind-blowing” about No voters following a conversation with his daughter.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson was quick to accuse McManus of a “last ditch effort to bully voters”.“
See his statement in full in the video below.
– Maria Bervanakis
‘My daughter was there, she got it, she's 9.’ As Australia inches closer to Referendum Day, Rove explains why our First Nations People should be given a Voice to Parliament. pic.twitter.com/xpWgZIuk13
— The Project (@theprojecttv) October 13, 2023
YES CAMPAIGNERS OUT IN FORCE
An army of more than 70,000 Yes volunteers will be spread across booths around the country, while about 25,000 No volunteers will be handing out flyers on Saturday.
Yes organisers have refused to let consecutive polls showing an imminent defeat for the campaign get them down, insisting enough Australians remain undecided that the vote can still be won.
In the last week of the campaign Yes supporters launched a nationwide blitz, with leaders like Noel Pearson, Rachel Perkins, Dean Parkin, Jade Ritchie and Thomas Mayo collectively appearing at 50 public events.
Yes volunteers have doorknocked more than 300,000 Australian homes in the last few months, and clocked up more than one million phone calls to voters.
A comparatively stronger ground game is the only thing Yes have left to try and secure a miracle comeback.
– Clare Armstrong
NO CAMPAIGN BLITZES SOCIAL SITES
In the past week, the No campaign held about 10 public events, with leading campaigners Warren Mundine and Opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price focusing on pre-poll visits.
Mr Mundine attended more than a dozen pre-poll locations around the country in the final days of the campaign, while Ms Price campaigned in Tasmania, Adelaide, Perth and Alice Springs.
The No campaign has had a consistently stronger online presence throughout the lead up to the referendum, with several viral videos on platforms like TikTok and Facebook well before Yes started increasing its social media content production.
– Clare Armstrong
MP’S BIG CALL AS POLLS OPEN
Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney has made a major call on The Voice just minutes before polls were set to open for the landmark referendum.
Ms Burney appeared on ABC News 24 just minutes before the booths opened at 8am, as she stood outside a polling booth in Brighton-Le-Sands, in Sydney’s south.
She said she was committed to working until 6pm Saturday to convince as many people to vote Yes.
“You have a chance to change history in this country,” she told the ABC.
“You have a chance to make Australia a better nation and get better outcomes for Aboriginal people.”
Ms Burney said it was “unacceptable” that the life expectancy of Aboriginal people is as low as 42 in some areas, while suicide rates are twice as high.
“Every Australian today has a chance to change that. That’s by voting Yes in this referendum,” she said.
– Courtney Gould, NewsWire
WHAT WILL BE COUNTED ON SATURDAY NIGHT?
All votes cast on the day will be counted that night.
The majority of pre-poll votes cast will also be counted on the night.
A small number of postal votes will be counted on the night but how many depends on how many postal votes the AEC has received back from voters by then.
There will be pre-poll counts that will not be available until late in the night on the Tally Room.
– Andrew Koubaridis
DUTTON’S LAST PITCH FOR NO
In his final appeal to voters, opposition leader Peter Dutton said he anticipated the vote would fail.
“The PM made a catastrophic mistake not providing the detail to Australians – he’s instinctively won their hearts because Australians do want better outcomes for Indigenous Australia, but he hasn’t won their minds,” Mr Dutton told ABC Radio.
– Courtney Gould, NewsWire
LATE SURGE IN YES VOTE
There has been a late surge in the Yes vote but will it be enough?
An exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Weekend Australian shows a three-point swing toward a Yes vote over the past week to 37 per cent – the highest yet.
However 57 per cent of voters said they planned to vote No as of Friday – a point down on the previous poll published on Monday.
Only 6 per cent of voters said they remained undecided.
– Maria Bervanakis
WHAT AM I VOTING ON?
The ballot paper has the proposed alteration to the Constitution written on it. You have to answer YES or NO to the following question:
“A proposed law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, do you approve of this proposed alteration?”
Go to the AEC for more information and download the referendum booklet.
– Andrew Koubaridis
Originally published as Referendum voting: Live updates across Australia as voters decide on the Voice
Read related topics:Voice to Parliament
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