Mackay Whitsunday leaders speak out on Voice referendum

Olympic legend Cathy Freeman has revealed she will vote yes on the Voice but what do community leaders in her hometown of Mackay think?

The First Nations icon said the referendum was a “chance to be part of a moment that brings people together”.

Her comments come as polls reveal a comfortable lead for the No campaign two weeks before the country heads to the polling booth on October 14.

CQUniversity historian Dr Benjamin said just eight of 44 referendums had passed in Australia, requiring a “double majority” of both states and voters.

We asked community members across the Mackay and Whitsunday regions to find their views on how the Voice, if passed, could affect our patch.

Marabisda CEO Adrianne Barnett

Aboriginal woman Adrianne Barnett runs Marabisda, a Mackay organisation supporting vulnerable Indigenous families and children, and has worked as an advocate for over 30 years.

She said she is voting yes and sees the Voice as a “new way of working together” that can advise government on “what the community is really calling for”.

“If you’re Aboriginal, you know how your community has been disadvantaged (but) non-Indigenous people … think they’re going to lose something by giving us a Voice,” Ms Barnett said.

“Successive governments have not been able to address that disadvantage.

“I think the Voice will be able to redirect a lot of funding to on the ground services where they’re actually needed.”

Mudth-Niyleta Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation CEO Sam Raciti

Kalkadoon man Sam Raciti is CEO of Mudth-Niyleta Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation, which provides a range of support services for Indigenous people in Sarina.

“I’m voting yes and I‘m helping the Yes campaign … because our country has matured … because together we are better,” Mr Raciti said.

“This is where history is calling.”

Mr Raciti said he had been in advisory commissions in the past and saw the Voice simply as an expert consultant for government decisions.

He said a No vote did not mean someone was racist, but also thought “scaremongering” misinformation was “confusing people”.

Proserpine student Laith Beattie

Laith Beattie is a 18-year-old student finishing his last year of high school in Proserpine and is about to vote for the first time for the Voice referendum.

He plans to vote yes and joined the Whitsunday for Yes campaign, but says no one else at his school is engaging with the debate.

Laith said part of the problem is that the referendum sounds like a very complicated matter, but described it simply.

“It’s just a committee that parliament doesn’t necessarily have to listen to, but it is important to have it so that they know how their choices are affecting specifically Indigenous citizens when making laws,” he said.

Dawson MP Andrew Willcox

Dawson MP Andrew Willcox said he was opposed to the Voice “dividing Australia on the basis of race”, while calling for respectful behaviour when discussing this “emotional topic”.

He said Australians had been given “little to no detail” on how it would work, but said he knew the current system “isn’t working because it’s being led by bureaucrats based in big cities”.

“Currently, we do not know what powers the Voice will have and who will hold that power,” Mr Willcox said.

Capricornia MP Michelle Landry

Michelle Landry has represented Capricornia for over a decade and was an assistant minister in the Morrison government.

She opposes the Voice, saying it would “forever divide our country by race” once enshrined in the constitution.

Ms Landry said Labor had not provided “key details about what exactly is involved”, but said the Voice would be “red tape” creating a “dysfunctional government”.

“There are better ways forward to recognise indigenous Australians in the constitution without tying it to risky, unknown and permanent Voice,” she said.

Mackay for Yes campaign manager Peter McCallum

Peter McCallum started the Mackay for Yes group, leading a march over Forgan Bridge, and is also the Mackay Conservation Group co-ordinator.

“This is a great invitation from the First Nations people of this country to act in a way that respects the 65,000 year history of our land,” he said.

He said the Voice was an advisory committee that would help lead Australia towards Treaty, something that we lack “compared to other colonised countries”.

Mr McCallum said he recalled his mother taking him along to the polling booth in the 1967 referendum and telling six-year-old Peter it was “the right thing to do”.

Whitsunday for Yes campaign manager Debra Barrow

Debra Barrow is the co-ordinator of the Yes campaign in the Whitsunday region and has carried out actions in local markets and joined the Yes march on September 17. She also has experience working with Indigenous communities and health organisations.

Ms Barrow says the gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in terms of health, education and life expectancy needs a better response, not only via government funded programs but directly asking First Nations communities what they need.

“For me, the definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over and over again and expecting a different outcome,” she said.

“I think, this way, by giving a Voice to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, we’re changing the way we do things and hopefully that means … those needs are met.”

Mirani MP Stephen Andrew

Stephen Andrew is the first South Sea Islander elected to parliament, representing Mirani since 2017, and firmly opposes the Voice.

He spoke at a No Rally organised by Worldwide Rally for Freedom Mackay and described Indigenous people as in “a domestic violence with our government”.

“The people that are voting yes, you’re welcome to do what you want (but) stop looking at the emotional side of this and look at the facts,” Mr Andrew said.

“(And) the facts suggest we are going down the tube in a big way.”

Burdekin MP Dale Last

Dale Last is a former police officer and has been Burdekin MP since 2015.

He said he could not support the Voice, believing it “divisive, especially at a time when we need unity”.

“Having worked in, and visited, many indigenous communities, I know that there is a desperate need for infrastructure and services to address the challenges those communities face.

“I don’t see how a Voice to Parliament will improve conditions for indigenous communities.”

Mr Last described the Voice as “another layer of bureaucracy” that could hinder access to necessary services.

Mackay MP Julieanne Gilbert

Julieanne Gilbert has also represented Mackay since 2015 and is Assistant Minister for Education.

She said she is “a strong Yes” to the Voice, and that she was voting to form a committee that addresses Indigenous peoples’ needs “in a culturally appropriate way”.

“Mackay is home to fantastic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,” Ms Gilbert said.

“They are the kids I sat beside at school, played sport with … now raising their own families.

“We have not been able to close the gap (so) when our First Nations people live as long and have the same education outcomes as others, we will all be on a level playing field.

“Time to bring in change.”