A Tale of Two Territories
When virtue signalling meets reality
The Australian Capital Territory was the only jurisdiction in the country where a majority of Australians voted for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
The ‘Yes’ vote in the ACT was 62.2 per cent.
But here’s what’s really interesting. In the Northern Territory, the ‘Yes’ vote was a measly 35.6 per cent.
To put that in context, the NT has the highest percentage of Aboriginal people in the nation, and yet it overwhelmingly rejected the Voice.
Meanwhile, the ACT, which has the lowest percentage of Aboriginal people but the highest percentage of public servants, voted overwhelmingly in favour.
Virtue signalling, faux concerned, paternalistic elites … meet reality.
It just goes to show how out of touch so many of those who work in the nation’s bureaucratic and political eco chamber are with the rest of the country they are supposed to be serving.
Comedian Magda Szubanski, who promised to record the names of people who campaigned against the Voice, lamented on Twitter …
“I’m so deeply saddened that this has been the result. To all our beautiful First Nations people…my heart goes out to you tonight I wish this had been different. Please know that there are millions of us who love and treasure and support you, that we hear your Voice and we will continue to walk with you.”
Meanwhile, high profile lawyer and social justice activist Kon Karapanagiotidis tweeted …
Not going to lie. I feel so deeply ashamed and embarrassed to be an Australian tonight. I’m so sorry to Indigenous people for failing you today.
Someone hand this pari a tissue and reassure them that it’s not half as bad as they fear.
The biggest proportion of ‘No’ votes came from states and territories with the highest Indigenous populations!
Not even Lingari, the electorate with Uluru in it, voted ‘Yes’.
With just over half the vote counted, ‘No’ was leading by a whopping 63.8 per cent to 36.2 per cent of the vote in that electorate where 40 per cent of the population identify as Indigenous!
So much for the "Voice from the Heart". It was clearly more like the Voice from the Canberra Bubble.
The Lingari result indicates that Shadow Indigenous Affairs Minister Jacinta Price, who is hails from Alice Springs, was speaking for many more Indigenous people than she was given credit for.
By contrast, consider this …
Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney couldn’t even convince her own electorate to back the Voice.
Her Barton electorate in NSW voted 55.7 per cent to 44.3 per cent against the indigenous Voice to Parliament.
Not even indigenous leader Noel Pearson could persuade his ancestral homeland on the merits of the Voice.
His Far North Queensland electorate of Leichhardt was last night breaking sharply to ‘No’. Only 33.5 per cent of voters had been bothered to write ‘Yes’ on their ballot paper.
As you can see in the graphic above the seats which, according to the 2021 Census, had the largest Indigenous populations as a proportion of voters also voted overwhelmingly against the Voice.
So Madga and her inner city social justicey friends really should quit their faux tears.
It was never the case that 80 per cent of Indigenous people wanted a Voice to Parliament. That claim was always bogus, and Australians refused to swallow it.
It was only ever the case that 80 per cent of 300 Indigenous people surveyed online many months ago wanted an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
The referendum result shows that many, many Indigenous people were not interested in the Voice and will not be crying in their cereal this morning with Madga.
As for Kon’s embarrassment about being Australian …
Don't be embarrassed Kon. Be proud. Ours is a great country where people are judged on the content of their character, rather than on the colour of their skin. And the majority of Australians - including Indigenous Australians - affirmed that again on Saturday!
Australians - Indigenous and non-Indigenous - saw through the emotional blackmail, and took a stand against the virtue signalling top end of town by voting ‘No’ to a divided Australia.
We are one and free!
I noticed that too. Aboriginal electorates voted overwhelmingly against. Celebrities and corporations have egg on their face. Burney should resign as of immediately. And then leave parliament and get better from whatever ails her.
Isn't it funny how the truth has its own way in the end! The Yes campaign had lots of money, but no sense. The truth was in the hands of the No campaign. And didn't it prove to be potent!