Yes for an Indigenous voice to parliament out-campaigns No before referendum launch

The Australian analyses both camps’ travel diaries over the past two months and finds Yes is in more places more often.

Supporters hold up placards during the Yes campaign launch on August 30 in the northern Adelaide suburb of Elizabeth. Picture: James Elsby/Getty Images

The Yes camp’s leading crusaders for an Indigenous voice to parliament have been out-campaigning the No camp on the ground, spending much of their time in Sydney, Brisbane and regional NSW and Queensland ahead of the official campaign.

Yes23 and Fair Australia have provided The Australian with a list of where their chief campaigners – Dean Parkin, Noel Pearson and Thomas Mayo for Yes and ­Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Warren Mundine for No – have been since early July.

Analysis of their travel schedules reveal Sydney has been the Yes campaign’s most visited location over that period, with culturally diverse communities in Western Sydney forming as a key battleground supporters believe they must win over in order to succeed at the referendum.

While Queensland has been all but written off for the Yes campaign, Brisbane was the second most visited capital city by Yes23, followed by Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

Regional Queensland and NSW cities and towns – such as Newcastle, Ipswich and the Sunshine Coast – have also been visited more frequently than other regional areas across the country.

Both sides consider Tasmania, where the No camp was on Wednesday as Anthony Albanese launched the referendum campaign from Adelaide, a crucial battleground state but campaigning there over the past two months has not been extensive.

“We’ve been focusing on the battleground states that we know are likely to be able to be swayed to provide a No vote towards the referendum, and Tasmania is one of those states,” Senator Nampijinpa Price said. “As recent polling suggests, Tasmania is now trending toward No.”

Senators Kerrynne Liddle and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Warren Mundine Senator Michaelia Cash hold a press conference before attending a No campaign event in Perth. Picture: WA Liberals

According to data supplied by the No campaign, Senator Nampijinpa Price and Mr Mundine have visited Queensland once each since early July, indicating they won’t be targeting their resources at the sunshine state.

The No campaign has to win just three out of six states in order for the referendum to fail and has set its sights on Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania and South Australia.

The Australian has been told 100 per cent of Fair Australia’s advertising dollars will go into those four states, with the No camp conceding it doesn’t have the resources the Yes campaign has.

Senator Nampijinpa Price, the opposition’s Indigenous Australians spokeswoman, has spent most of her time in her home territory of the NT, while Mr Mundine has also regularly been in his home state of NSW.

The Yes and No camps’ data cannot be directly compared because the Yes campaign’s location breakdown is more detailed – done by city and town rather than just state – but shows the trio of supporters have been on the ground nearly four times as much as the No duo.

Qantas, which supports the voice, has provided Yes23 and the Uluru Dialogue with free flights “so they can engage with regional and remote Australians ahead of the referendum”.

The Uluru Dialogue team, including Megan Davis, Pat Anderson and Eddie Synot, are also central to the Yes campaign and have been travelling around regional areas – such as Cooktown in Queensland, Leonora in WA and Coonabarabran in NSW – for briefings and town hall events.

Anthony Albanese speaks at the Yes campaign launch on Wednesday. Picture: James Elsby/Getty Images

Yes campaigners said the referendum was harder for them because they had to win a minimum of four states and a national majority, meaning their resources needed to be more dispersed.

They conceded their growing volunteer base of around 30,000 people gave them an advantage over the No case, as well as support from the union movement, the Greens and independent MPs.

Yes23 campaign director Dean Parkin said many people hadn’t turned their minds to the referendum yet because they’re more worried about the cost of living.

He said it was important supporters were in suburbs like Elizabeth – where the referendum date was announced on Wednesday – that were full of undecided voters.

“It is important that we get out there and share the message with (undecided voters) and make people understand that this is something that they can be part of a really important practical change for the country,” Mr Parkin said.

The No camp will be in Adelaide on Thursday while Yes campaigners, including former NSW premier Barry O’Farrell, will be in Sydney.