"I AM just gutted."
That's part of the text message I received from the University of Newcastle's Emeritus Professor and Worimi man John Maynard yesterday morning. Much of his academic work has revolved around the historical struggles of Indigenous Australians.
"Gutted" will remain with me forever when I think about the referendum to change the constitution to recognise the original inhabitants of this land and to establish an advisory body in Parliament for Indigenous Australians.
The Voice was billed as a way towards providing Indigenous Australians with a greater say on issues that affect their lives. It was billed as a way toward addressing the historical traumas since 1788 in a nation that has found it difficult to properly acknowledge how colonial legacy has contributed to appalling statistics regarding the health, life expectancy, education and incarceration rate of Indigenous people.
Getting the 'yes' vote to be delivered by a majority of Australians in a majority of states was always going to be an uphill battle. Only eight of the 45 referendums in Australia have been carried. Those that have been carried had bipartisan support from the major political parties. 'Yes' advocates had to prosecute the case that changing the constitution would have a practical benefit. That too was an uphill battle because many Australians don't know, or interact with, Indigenous people. Many believe Indigenous Australians are responsible for their own disadvantage.
The same-sex marriage plebiscite in 2017 was passed because many Australians knew and interacted with gay people. There wasn't a progressive 'no' campaign surrounding the plebiscite. Fear tactics and "slippery slope" arguments were rejected. While there was a progressive 'no' campaign arguing against the Voice, there can be no doubt that scare tactics - including complete and utter BS repeated ad nauseum - were more successful at influencing the referendum than they were at influencing the plebiscite.
The polls late last week showed the referendum and its "modest proposal" - to quote the oft-repeated words of Prime Minister Albanese - was almost certain to fail. There wasn't a single credible pollster in the country that thought it would succeed. For those who maintained, or tried to maintain, an optimism that a majority of Australians in a majority of states would vote 'yes', those polls cast a long shadow.
Like many 'yes' voters, I am saddened and disappointed by the result. But a small ray of sunshine shining into that well of sadness and disappointment is to see that the majority of people in the federal electorate of Newcastle, where I live, voted 'yes'. Just like the same community said 'yes' to legalising same-sex marriage. Sure, the margins weren't the same. In the marriage plebiscite, 74.8 per cent of eligible people in the Newcastle electorate voted 'yes', while a much lower 53.48 per cent of voters returned a 'yes' vote at the weekend's referendum.
Of the 51 voting booths in the Newcastle electorate - including Pre-Poll Voting Centres (PPVC) - that had vote counts registered on the Australian Electoral Commission Tally Room, 39 booths returned a majority 'yes' vote. If there's anything interesting at all about how individual booths voted in Newcastle, perhaps it is that Wallsend, an ALP stronghold at both state and federal levels, saw 7747 'no' votes and 4957 'yes' votes returned at the Wallsend PPVC. Even rusted-on Labor voters - and there's no shortage of them in Wallsend - didn't follow the ALP pleas to return a 'yes' vote.
The early voting option was huge at the Wallsend PPVC with 12837 votes cast, while just 3987 votes were cast at the three other Wallsend booths on Saturday. That's a significant increase among those unable to vote on the Saturday compared to the state election last March, when 7549 early votes were cast at the Wallsend Early Voting Centre.
Newcastle may have returned a 'yes' vote, but Paterson (70.52 per cent) and Shortland (61.71 per cent) had strong support for 'no'.
Like a lot of 'yes' voters, I wonder just where Australia goes from here in its relationship with Indigenous people.
Gutted.
