By Tanya Faulkner
Australians are counting down the days until they head to the voting booths in an upcoming referendum, with locals doing what they can to educate the community about their vote.
Victorians will cast their vote on Saturday 14 October on the proposed lat to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.
Casey For Yes group founder Claire Ferres Miles said the group has been started specifically for The Voice and educating the community.
“We set up Casey For Yes to promote the upcoming referendum to locals, and have community events to provide information to people and to be available to answer questions before we cast our votes,” she said.
Ms Ferres Miles said the community seems to be feeling positive about the referendum, after starting to visit towns around the Hills and interact with the community.
“We can only comment on our recent visit to Upwey, however we estimated around 40 per cent of people were very supportive of the yes vote, 40 per cent seemed to be undecided and looking for more information, and 20 per cent either didn’t want to engage or were supporting the no vote,” she said.
Casey For Yes has been in the community for approximately one month, and has already made a large impact.
“Casey For Yes is made up 100 per cent of community volunteers, and we now have around 120 registered volunteers from around Casey and Yarra Ranges areas,” she said.
The group hopes to have two to three events every week leading up to the referendum across Casey and the Hills for locals to ask questions and become more informed about their decisions in October.
Locals can expect to see pop up ‘street stalls’ and upcoming forum or panel-style events to get involved in.
Ms Ferres Miles said it’s an important decision to acknowledge the wider Australian population.
“The referendum is an opportunity to acknowledge and recognise first nations people in the Australian Constitution.
“It will establish a voice to parliament for first nations and Torres Strait islanders, in the form of an advisory committee that will represent local and regional voices to provide advice on policies that will directly affect them,” she said.
Bayswater MP Jackson Taylor said Australia is home to the oldest continuous living culture in the world, and for over 60,000 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have called this land home.
He said there is already a strong political history leading up to the referendum.
“In 1967, there was a referendum to count Indigenous people as part of our population, over 90% voted ‘yes’, which is the most resounding support of a referendum in our history.
“In 1967 we counted our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and in 2023 it’s time to listen to them and recognise them.
“The Voice is an idea that has come directly from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to seek constitutional recognition through a Voice.
The Voice at its core is simple, it’s about: ‘Recognising, Listening and Making practical progress’.
Due to the importance of the vote, several estimation polls have been launched online to establish whether the nation appears for or against The Voice.
Whilst the numbers fluctuate regularly, Victoria appears to be consistently at the top of the polls in favour of the yes vote.
To find out more information on Casey For Yes go to yes23.com.au/casey_for_yes
