80% Of Dawson Electorate VOTE NO

Last Saturday saw a hive of activity at polling booths across Australia, as people cast their vote on The Voice.

By early evening, the pre-emptive results were announced, with The Voice being rejected by the majority vote.

For any referendum to be successful, the processed Bill must receive Double Majority, meaning it must receive national majority from voters, as well as at least four of six states majority.

As of the day of print, close to 80 per cent of ballots have been counted, with the national majority, of 60.7 per cent of voters against The Voice, with only 39.3 per cent of voters for The Voice

On the local level, this was a similar trend.

As of the day of print, in the Dawson electorate, 79.6 per cent of votes have been counted, with 80.7 per cent voting against The Voice, and 19.3 per cent voting yes.

In Capricornia, with 77.7 per cent of ballots counted so far, 81 per cent of voters said no, and 19 per cent voted yes.

Federal Member for Dawson Andrew Willcox voted no, saying “The Government proposed an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, and while highlighting the issues of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, is extremely important, I am fundamentally opposed to dividing the country on the basis of race.”

Member of the Whitsundays branch of Yes23, Louise Mahony was saddened by the outcome.

“The Voice was asking for Indigenous people to have a say in how they live their lives, and now it’s a bit of a slap in the face,’ she said.

“We all assume how we run our lives is right, but every person experiences life differently, and I am saddened by the lack of compassion for Indigenous peoples.”

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Campaigners for Vote No and Vote Yes outside the polling centre at Cannonvale State School. Photo credit: Rachael Smith