Yes23 campaign signs destroyed, graffitied sparking safety concerns

A group of Territorians destroying campaign material right outside advocates’ front doors has left philanthropists feeling targeted.

The upcoming referendum has invited hearty debate but the underhanded approach some campaigners are taking in the dead of night has left Territorians feeling unsafe in their homes.

Yes23 NT coordinator and proud Nyamal woman Georgia Corrie said her team of volunteers spent last weekend tirelessly putting up corflutes only to lose count of how many were destroyed within days.

Ms Corrie said the corflutes and volunteers’ time were not funded by the NT or federal governments and it was disheartening to see their philanthropic efforts undermined.

Yes23 NT coordinator and Nyamal woman Georgia Corrie said vandalising corflutes was a reportable offence with a deep psychological burden.

“Corflutes they’ve had in their own home have been vandalised, been stolen – I’ve got people trying to work out how they can show their support but do it so they don’t feel like their house is a target,” Ms Corrie said.

“There are complexities and there’s layers with this in that it’s not just psychological distress, but people almost feel unsafe in their own homes because of their showing their support for the campaign.

“At the end of the day, that’s just not fair for anyone.”

Vandalised Yes23 NT corflute.

Ms Corrie said she was concerned how the vandalised corflutes would affect the younger generation.

She said a relative’s young grandchild saw some of the vulgar messaging and was left confused why people were “so angry”.

“This young person was quite distressed in terms of, ‘why would someone do that, why are people voting no? Is this wrong, are we upsetting people?’” Ms Corrie said.

“Trying to explain that to children who still face challenges – we know Closing the Gap statistics, they’re worsening, we’re not on track to meet targets.

“We know a successful Yes vote is not just for our Elders and for our current generations, but it’s for our future generations.”

Vandalised Yes23 NT corflute.

Ms Corrie there had been “personal attacks” on either side of the campaign across the country, and said a number of mental health organisations had called for respectful campaigning guidelines.

“People will go out and graffiti corflutes and think to a degree, it’s amusing,” she said.

“At the end of the day, we are just people and while you may think spray-painting a corflute with ‘No’ isn’t harmful, or might be amusing, or might be getting your message across, it can be incredibly distressing to some Territorians.”

NT Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price – who has led the charge for the No campaign – was asked to comment on her supporters’ behaviour but did not respond.