Inner City votes ‘Yes’ to Voice
Image: Sydney suburbs voted in support of the Indigenous Voice referendum proposal. Image: Yes23/Facebook
By JUSTIN COOPER
As votes continue to be counted towards the Indigenous Voice to Parliament Referendum, electorate polls reveal Sydney and inner city suburbs resounding support towards the proposed constitutional change.
According to ABC* projections, the four electorates comprising Sydney City, Inner West and Eastern Suburbs have projected a strong affirming response to the constitutional change.
The electorates of Sydney, Grayndler, Wentworth and Kingsford Smith have all reached a majority ‘yes’ vote. Two of the electorates have also ranked as one of the highest percentages of ‘yes’ votes across the country.
Sydney Supporting The Voice
The Grayndler electorate which comprises many Inner West Council Suburbs, has had the second highest ‘yes’ vote rates within a single electorate, with 74.3% voting towards the change.
Sydney electorate saw 71% of residents voting ‘yes’, following Grayndler as the third highest rate of ‘yes’ votes across the country.
Wentworth electorate, comprising of Woollahra Council suburbs, sits in the top ten electorates of yes vote percentages with 62.3%. Waverley and Randwick council’s Kingsford Smith electorate, are projected to hold a ‘yes’ majority with 55% of residents support.
The results follow a trend of many of Australia’s largest cities and neighbouring suburbs supporting the change. Along with Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Hobart, and Perth electorates have all projected a ‘yes’ majority.
Other larger cities amongst NSW, including Wollongong, North Suburbs, and Newcastle – which has a long history of supporting past referendums, have also received a projected ‘yes’ majority.
However, there is divide between Sydney suburbs and greater Western Sydney.
Western Sydney Suburbs electorates are expected to see the proposal defeat, with Parramatta, Penrith and Bankstown electorates projecting a ‘no’ majority. Larger regional and rural electorates have also shown a majority of votes against the change.
Besides support amongst cities, all Australian states have projected a no vote, with the Indigenous Voice to Parliament being defeated. ABC’s* national projections show 39.6% of the population have voted ‘yes’, with a majority 60.4% have voted ‘no’.
“A stepping stone on the path to progress”
On Sunday, City Of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore described her reaction to the results, labelling them as “devastating and tragic.”
“While I’m grateful that the vast majority of the City of Sydney accepted the generous invitation from First Nations communities, I share your profound disappointment and sadness at the overall result and the rejection of this opportunity to build a brighter future for all,” Moore posted to Facebook.
Recalling the campaigns leading up to the referendum, Moore said, “I’m bitterly disappointed that [this] opportunity was seized upon by a mean, ungenerous and negative political campaign.”
Moore expressed the City of Sydney’s solidarity with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, acknowledging the “harmful toll” which has followed.
Noting the referendum’s impact of bringing “Indigenous disadvantage to the fore,” Moore encourages the Government to continue pushing methods towards closing the gap.
“Tens of thousands volunteered and millions voted for Yes. We must build on that momentum… meeting the needs and aspirations Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and that we have been fighting for long before the Referendum campaign,” she explained.
“Let yesterday’s loss be a stepping stone on the path to progress, justice and equality.”
*Percentages and projections current to the time of publication.
