The Voice to Parliament exit polling: Inner-city Brisbane a resounding yes, regions divided

Voice referendum exit polling conducted at early voting centres across Queensland show the state may be on track for a result very few saw coming.

If Saturday’s Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum was decided in the inner suburbs of Brisbane it would win in a landslide, but head out of Queensland’s capital and the outcome becomes less clear.

In exit polls conducted by The Courier-Mail and its regional mastheads on Tuesday across Brisbane, Logan, Rockhampton, Townsville and Cairns, early voters shared their feelings and their votes to give an insight into where the state might land after the count.

Of the 216 voters polled by The Courier-Mail, 115 voted yes for the Voice and 101 no.

MAPPED: The Qld suburbs voting ‘yes’ and ‘no’

The pre-polling booth at Brisbane City Hall gave the most resounding yes vote, with 28 people saying they wrote yes, while only seven said they put no in the box.

Other locations across the inner city like West End, Indooroopilly and The Gap had overwhelming yes votes.

People voting in the Voice to Parliament referendum at Brisbane City Hall. Picture: Liam Kidston

But head south and the result is flipped on its head, with voters in Logan leaning heavily towards the no camp with nearly triple the number of people polled saying they voted against the Voice.

It was also a resounding no 1300km north of Brisbane, with 45 people surveyed in Townsville voting against, nearly twice the 26 who voted yes.

In Rockhampton and Cairns it was a little closer, with just a few votes either side of a yes or a no result.

Many in both camps shared their concerns over information (or lack thereof) about the Voice, while some just embraced the “vibe” and felt it was the right thing to do.

Brisbane City Hall on Tuesday was packed with members of the public wearing Vote Yes shirts.

Helen Matthews handing out how to vote yes cards outside Brisbane City Hall. Picture: Liam Kidston

Nudgee’s Tessa Millar said she wanted to be on the right side of history by voting yes.

“I don’t see any harm in voting yes as it’s a big step in the right direction,” Ms Millar said.

Office workers Adam, Nav and Sachi voted together and each voted yes.

“It’s about being progressive and inclusive, and just the right thing to do,” the trio told The Courier-Mail.

“I think Indigenous Australians should be properly recognised. It’s worked in other countries,” Sachi said.

“Totally yes,” Roweena said.

“Just look at the statistics among Indigenous Australians, high infant mortality, less employment opportunities, low education.”

Young couple Chelsea Graving and Damon Marona said the lack of information had led them towards the no camp.

“I voted no,” Ms Graving said.

“Just because I don’t think there is enough information out there on what happens if it’s successful – what the ramifications will be.”

Mr Marona added: “I just don’t think a yes vote will actually change anything.”

A lack of communication around the impacts of the Voice was a common theme among the City Hall’s no voters.

“I don’t understand what it means for the future of Australia,” Danica from Spring Hill said.

Meanwhile in Townsville, 63 per cent of 71 surveyed saying they voted no.

Townsville business owner Phillip Beard says he will vote no in the Voice to Parliament referendum. Picture: Chris Burns

Business owner Phillip Beard said he was balancing his work with handing out no forms at the Reid Park pre-polling booth, and although did not consider himself a political person wanted to take a “call to action”.

“They are nice people who are voting yes, and a lot of them I know, but I think they’re misguided,” Mr Beard said.

“I just don’t think that’s a solution.”

‘No’ voter Phil Potts said he was neutral about the referendum and its outcome, but believed Townsville voters’ resentful about crime rates would be pushed towards voting no.

“I don’t think the crime will be solved by the Voice either way,” he said.

“White kids, black kids, they’re both the same, they’re all doing damage.

“And a lot of people here will vote no because of that.”

Mr Potts was voting no because he was concerned about more national parks being closed or restricted if a First Nations advisory body had influence with the government.

Mary Parker of Condon said if decisions were being made for First Nations people, their voices should be heard.

Ms Parker said sentiment was headed towards no in North Queensland, but some people had conflated different issues.

“Hard to say what the result will be in Townsville, it’s towards ‘no’. There are a lot of angry people with the car thefts but that’s not what the Voice is about,” she said.

Regina Backhouse says she voted yes because it was time that the First Nations people were recognised.

In Cairns and Rockhampton polls of about 50 voters were fairly evenly split among yes and no.

“I voted yes because I believe it is well and truly over time that the First Nations people were recognised in this country, and I honestly don’t know what all the no people are afraid of,” Rockhampton’s Regina Backhouse said.

Col Watkins however, was firmly in the no camp.

“We have already spent $35 billion dollars on Indigenous affairs … not much result, just adding more cost to a problem,” the Rockhampton resident said.

It comes after pre-polling booths erupted into controversy involving clashes between opposing sides that led to one man being charged by police.

A 30-year-old Raceview man was charged with serious assault at the North Ipswich early voting centre on October 3.

Police allege the man entered into a verbal altercation with a 65-year-old man before he physically assaulted him, requiring treatment in hospital.

Opposing sides also clashed at Stanthorpe with footage of the incident uploaded onto social media.

Cries of “I’ll deck you” were heard on the video before the person filming it said “so this is what the Yes voters do … this is a Yes voter for you”.

Originally published as The Voice to Parliament exit polling: Inner-city Brisbane a resounding yes, regions divided