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October 16, 2023
Some of the city’s most culturally diverse communities opposed the Voice while those in Melbourne’s wealthiest suburbs were among the nation’s biggest backers.
Figures released on Sunday show that established migrant communities in Labor-held electorates refused to support the proposal.
Pollsters say Italian and Greek communities overwhelmingly voted against the proposal, including in Immigration Minister Andrew Giles’s own seat of Scullin, where almost two in three voters were opposed.
Early analysis shows Chinese voters in Box Hill were mostly in favour of the Voice, while Eastern Europeans in other electorates voted No.
And despite strong support among newer African and Indian communities in Melbourne’s western suburbs, other Indian community leaders had expressed concerns that Labor had not focused on cost-of-living pressures.
Chinese voters in Box Hill were mostly in favour of the Voice by many other migrant communities overwhelmingly rejected it. Picture: David Crosling
The findings come as six Victorian electorates were among the top 10 Yes votes across the country, with the affluent seats of Kooyong and Higgins scraping in at No. 9 and 10.
Liberal MPs acknowledge the support in seats such as Kooyong and Goldstein confirm these electorates have become more progressive, making it challenging to reclaim them. But some maintain they are not lost.
Senior Liberal Dan Tehan said: “The key for us winning the Teal seats is going to be making sure that we have good, strong local community candidates who can prosecute a strong economic vision.”
The opposition has also set its sights on mostly Labor-held electorates in the outer suburbs where the No vote prevailed and people continue to struggle with the bruising cost of living.
Liberal senator James Paterson said: “The marginal Labor and independent seats which strongly voted No in Victoria, particularly Aston, McEwen, Indi, Dunkley and Hawke, will be target seats at the next federal election.”
Two in three federal electorates across the state voted against an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the Constitution.
Leading pollster Kos Samaras, of the RedBridge Group, said the outer suburban electorates were always going to be an “absolute disaster” for the Yes campaign because it had focused on the inner city seats.
Labor MPs told the Herald Sun they had concerns about the organisation of the Yes camp. One said Yes23 did not understand political campaigning.
Meanwhile, Premier Jacinta Allan issued a strong message to First Nations people in the wake of the referendum defeat saying: “Victorians respect you and your culture”.
In a statement with Minister for Treaty and First Peoples Natalie Hutchins, Ms Allan said: “There is one truth we know to be self-evident: when Aboriginal Victorians thrive, we’re all the stronger for it.”
