South West joins WA and most of Australia in rejecting proposed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice

The South West has voted overwhelmingly to reject the proposed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice in the weekend’s referendum. Thousands of residents headed to polling booths across the region of Saturday to deliver an overwhelming dismissal of the change to the Australian Constitution. All three Federal electorates covering the greater South West region had returned majority No votes. As of 9pm Saturday, the Forrest electorate which covers coastal areas of the region including Bunbury, Busselton and Margaret River had voted No 60-40. The expansive electorate of O’Connor which covers Collie, Bridgetown and Manjimup alongside most of the southern half of the State had voted No 74-26. Canning, which covers the Waroona Shire, had voted No 76-24. Voters in some locations faced lengthy waits during the 10-hour voting period on Saturday, with those visiting East Manjimup Primary School and Bridgetown High School polling places facing wait times of an hour in the morning. Manjimup voter Yvonne Pegram said there was just not enough polling staff. “There was only one book in there and it made things very slow and some people brought their small children as well, which made it hard for them,” she said. Despite the constant bursts of electors coming through, Bridgetown polling place second-in-charge Shirley Streeter said the demeanor of the voters was calm, collected and civil. “Everyone’s been really respectful, everyone had been pleasant and happy to wait in line and everything’s gone smoothly.” Volunteers turned out to polling places across the region during the day, trying to sway voters before they made their final decisions. Despite claiming victory after the votes were counted, No campaigners were outnumbered by the Yes campaign in many locations. At the two polling places in Dalyellup, Yes volunteers outnumbered No volunteers by about three to one. Yes campaign material was also more prominent in a number of polling booth locations across the region. In the end, the on-ground presence did not translate into a majority Yes vote. Before the referendum result was even known, pro-Voice campaigners in Margaret River were lamenting the Federal Government’s message had not cut through. While volunteers blasted the No campaign for “misinformation and misdirection”, several Yes voters said the State Government’s failure with the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act and the Federal Government’s reliance on the trust of voters were also significant factors. Speaking before the result was known, Margaret River Yes campaign co-ordinator Sarah Flynn declined to comment on criticisms of the Federal campaign. “I think we’ve learnt a lot from this experience,” she said. “I can only speak for our community who have come out in droves to support the Voice.” After he was told the referendum would not be succeeding before polls closed in WA, Bunbury Yes campaigner Peter Males admitted the pro-Voice campaign had been “second best”. “We haven’t had a good campaign,” he said. “They must have thought we had it.” No voters stated they found the Yes case poorly articulated, there wasn’t enough detail around the Voice itself, and many No supporters wanted direct, grassroots action to help Indigenous Australians rather than money wasted in Canberra. Manjimup No campaigner Harley Priddis argued the Voice was “fundamentally wrong”. “(It) shouldn’t be enshrined in the Constitution for a select few people,” he said. Dunsborough residents Brian Bell and Leonie Bell both voted no, with Ms Bell arguing there were “just too many unanswered questions”. “(Anthony Albanese) says worry about the details later, which I think is just ridiculous,” she said. Margaret River photographer Nellie-Joy O’Mara said she was cautious at any vote requiring constitutional change without adequate information. “I voted no because I don’t believe we’ve been given enough information to know what we’re voting for,” she said. “Once things are in the Constitution, it’s very hard to change them.” Dunsborough No campaigner Jenni Glassford believed the Voice was not the right way to address issues facing First Nations Australians. “I think it is really sad what has happened (to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians) but I don’t think this is the way to fix it,” she said.