2022
Incorporating
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
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ROCK AND ROLL Page 5
Year Nine Steiner School student and Vivid band drummer Will Wettenhall was on fire during the Battle of the Bands competition on Sunday.
$3m pool, kids centre approved
Story on page 2. PHOTO: Hannah Kennelly
Page 7
Thoughts on a first referendum
Sport
Sportsperson of the year nomination
It’s a NO from us Majority M j rity off vvoters t r in Mansfi M n field ld Shir Shire rreject j t th the V Voice, i , rrefl flecting ting n national ti n l rresult lt
By HANNAH KENNELLY and SAMUEL O’BRIEN A MAJORITY of voters within Mansfield Shire voted against enshrining a Voice to Parliament in Australia’s Constitution, helping deliver a decisive ‘No’ in the weekend’s national referendum. According to Australian Electoral Commission statistics on Monday, those who voted ‘No’ locally represented 70.9 per cent of the vote in Bonnie Doon, 68.4 per cent of the vote in Jamieson, 55.7 per cent of the vote
at the Mansfield Sporting Complex polling booth, and 61.5 per cent of the vote at Tolmie. The Mansfield pre-poll at the CWA Hall saw 67.8 per cent over voters say ‘No’. All Australians states, excluding the ACT, voted against the referendum on Saturday, eliminating the Yes Campaign’s hopes for a double majority. Tasmania was the first to be declared as a No state, followed by New South Wales and South Australia. ABC analysts officially
called the referendum result at 7:25 pm AEDT - shortly over an hour after polls closed in several states. Despite continuous campaigning from Indi MP Helen Haines for a ‘Yes’ vote, the Indi electorate rejected the Voice proposal, with 67.8 per cent voting ‘No’ - the fifth highest in the state. In a statement Dr Haines acknowledged changing the constitution is “exceptionally hard”. “Yesterday, Australians including voters in Indi,
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comprehensively voted ‘No’ to recognition in our Constitution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through a Voice to Parliament,” she said. “While I am disappointed in the outcome, I am grateful that we have a democracy that allows every one of us to have our say. “I know that this is not the end of the journey toward Reconciliation, toward Closing the Gap. “We will keep walking together, keeping striving for better.”
On Saturday, the Mansfield Courier spoke to several residents outside the town’s polling booths. Jeremy Madin and Keith Leydon had opposite views and shirts, but were happy to chat to each other. Jeremey voted yes and Keith no. However they both agreed many Mansfield residents had “made up their minds”. “I think many people already know which way they are going to vote, so everyone we have encoun-
tered today has been pretty respectful,” Jeremy said. Keith said it was not clear what the overall consensus of the community was. “People are stopping and grabbing pamphlets and chatting to both sides so I’m not sure,” he said. Nationally, 60.6 per cent of Australians voted against the proposed Voice to Parliament. Victoria recorded one of the highest Yes Votes in the country, with 55 per cent of residents voting in favour of the proposed amendment.
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