Nathan Cleary tries to kickstart second miracle comeback as contest moves to ballot box

Nathan Cleary led the greatest grand final comeback in NRL history for Penrith, and now his new Yes campaign teammates are hoping for another miracle.

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney Anthony Albanese with supporters of Yes23 at Goodwood in Adelaide. Picture: Chris Kidd

Nathan Cleary led the greatest grand final comeback in NRL history on Sunday for the Penrith Panthers, and now his new Yes campaign teammates hope they are not too far behind chasing another miracle victory.

The Panthers co-captain was unveiled as a coup for the Indigenous voice to parliament just hours after orchestrating a come-from-behind victory in the final 20 minutes of the NRL grand final, with the message “No Voice, No Choice – come on Australia, vote Yes”. The game’s best player, and the Clive Churchill medallist for man of the match on Sunday, recorded the short video after Wiradjuri man Roy Ah-See spoke to the Panthers three weeks ago “about the reasons Indigenous people asked fellow Australians for a voice”.

Cleary was the definite sparkle to the Yes campaign’s push to defy both the history of referendums and increasingly emphatic national polling, as Anthony Albanese also joined the campaign trail in Tasmania on Monday.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney – her hands clasped almost in prayer – was emotional as she called a come-from-behind Yes win a “shot in the arm” for reconciliation. “For most Australians this referendum may not mean a great deal, it won’t change people’s material lives,” she said while standing next to the Prime Minister. “But for us as a nation, and for First Nations people, it will mean so much.”

A video showing Penrith Panther player Nathan Cleary supporting the 'Yes' vote in the upcoming referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament.

But as early voting started on Monday in the AFL states, there were signs that No voters were out in force.

The Australian spoke to voters as they left the polls in North Melbourne – a heartland of progressive Australia – and found about one-third were voting no.

In the working-class Labor suburb of Cloverdale in Perth, two No voters appeared to have taken John Howard’s instruction in August to “maintain the rage” quite literally, shouting abuse at Yes volunteers as they drove off together from the shopping centre where dozens of people lined up to vote early.

As North Melbourne’s Panarcadian Association building opened its doors for the first day of polling on Monday, the Yes campaign was dominant but not reaching the heights it would have expected in the Greens-leaning area.

Richmond football club legend Mervyn Keane, 70, was also at the polling location but said his experience with Indigenous communities would have him vote no. “I’ve made up my mind and made my decision to vote no,” Mr Keane said.

(Nathan Cleary, Stephen Crichton and Brian To'o at the Penrith Panthers fan day on Monday. Picture: David Hossack / NRL

“I think I’m as researched and well-read as anyone who’s voting in this referendum.

“I’ve been to the Red Centre, the Top End and the Tiwi Islands three times in the last 18 months, and I’ve listened to all the politicians from both sides.”

Taylor, 26, said while he was forced to vote early due to being unavailable on referendum day, he was comfortable he had heard enough. “I’ve done my research – I’ll be voting no,” he said.

Barbara Hall said she had been waiting to lodge her vote as far back as 2017 and did not need more time.

“This (Yes) vote is absolutely the right thing to do,” Ms Hall said.

“We’ve got one chance and it’s unlikely to come up again.”

Robin Sheen was adamant she did not need more time to deliberate and said it would be a “national shame” if the No vote won and Australia’s global reputation was at stake if the voice were not enshrined.

“I’m a hard Yes (voter) and I feel really strongly about it,” Ms Sheen said.

Early voting for the voice referendum at Belmont in WA. Picture: Colin Murty

“I’ve done a lot of work in Indigenous communities and I have seen first-hand the difference it makes when Aboriginal people have a voice. (First Nations people) having a say in the policies and programs that are delivered to them is critical and if you’ve been there and you’ve talked to people it’s a no-brainer.

“If you’re undecided on what to vote for, take the time left and do your own research, this vote is important.”

Mark, 66, said he would be voting yes on the basis that the No campaign had failed to convince him constitutional change was dangerous. “The fearmongering from (the) No campaign doesn’t convince me,” he said.

Asked if he considered using the days available to learn more about the No vote, Mark said he was satisfied with what the Yes campaign offered Australia.

“It’s overdue and I think it will benefit all of us in the end.”

In Burnside Heights, voters were also eager to lodge their votes early, with many citing work commitments as a driver.

“I have work referendum day, so it’ll be best if I lodge my vote early,” King, 36, said. “I’ll be voting yes … for anyone undecided, do your research and decide for yourself would be my advice.”

Khalil, 25, said while he would be vote yes he was pleased to see a positive turnout at the early poll day. “It’s been a good day (for democracy), everyone has steadily come through with good reason to vote early,” he said.

“Whatever happens on referendum day we’ll see … but it’s been good here.”

Jack, 31, differed and said he had never been convinced about the voice to parliament.

“No, I won’t vote (yes),” he said.

“I don‘t need to wait (until referendum), they lost me way back.”

In Western Australia, early voters appeared to be strongly leaning No in the wake of the controversial Aboriginal Heritage laws and WA Labor’s late call to scrap them.

Industrial chemist Brian Evans and wife Murnee Chekdeng decided six months ago they wanted the referendum to succeed. Picture: Colin Murty

In an old Commonwealth Bank in central Perth, early voters were mostly office workers.

One Yes voter said her husband worried the voice would inspire more land claims but she thought that was nonsense.

“I voted yes because it makes no difference to me and if it helps them, fine,” she said.

Cloverdale, close to Perth Airport, is home to a significant population of fly-in, fly-out mine workers, many of whom will be in the remote north on voting day

At Infant Jesus Parish in Morley, another northern Perth suburb held by state and federal Labor, non-Indigenous voters wanted to talk about what they knew about Aboriginal Australia.

One woman spoke of disrespectful Indigenous children at a local shopping centre. Another said Indigenous people burned floorboards in public housing at La Peruse. One man told how Indigenous people came to the lane behind his family’s home in the WA goldfields when he was a child and his mother gave them tea.

These early voters who stopped to talk to The Australian were mostly seniors, retirees or disability pensioners. Former dairy farmers Shirley and Malcolm Munro said they voted no because they did not understand the voice. “I was always taught ‘don’t sign something unless you know what it is’, and I don’t know what it is,” Mrs Munro, 85, said.

Ross Elliott, a retired oil and gas worker, said he decided to vote yes after reading widely about the proposal. He was appalled by the anti-voice slogan “If you don’t know, vote no”. “There’s a lot of misinformation out there that just makes me wild,” he said.

Industrial chemist Brian Evans and wife Murnee Chekdeng decided six months ago they wanted the referendum to succeed.

“I have lived all my life with Aboriginal people, in the bush,” Mr Evans said.