The votes of Australia’s migrant communities may be key to the success or failure of the voice
The votes of Australia’s many migrant communities may be the key to the success or failure of the voice referendum particularly in the most populous states. Some, like Canberra’s Chinese community, have chosen to campaign directly for a yes vote but not all multi-cultural communities are doing the same.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00 On Ngunnawal country, Indian expats enjoy a national pastime.
00:07 A spell at the crease, interest rates and the cost of living are front of mind, while
00:13 debate on the voice is still filtering through.
00:16 I'm not involved in any of this stuff, so you're asking the wrong person.
00:20 I have no idea about that, sorry.
00:21 I'd be voting yes for it, yeah, because I believe they're the First Nations people of
00:25 this country and the country belongs to them.
00:28 First Nations sporting icons and grassroots campaigners are delivering the Yes 23 pitch.
00:34 This is the first time we're getting an opportunity to acknowledge the real traditional land,
00:39 holders, custodians.
00:41 Style yes, but perhaps substance no for Canberra's 20,000 strong Indian community.
00:47 A few of my friends, a few of the community leaders are asking the same question, that
00:51 exactly what we are voting for.
00:53 A message not believed by many in the capital's Chinese community.
00:57 We don't want to make the voice of the Parliament as a racial thing.
01:00 We want to make the voice of the Parliament as to treat everybody equal.
01:06 21 community organisations represent Canberra's 26,000 Chinese Australians.
01:12 Those organisations will back the Yes campaign.
01:15 We vote to support our First Nations people and that is the message we want to get across.
01:21 Canberra's 30 Indian community groups represent the diversity of the world's most populous
01:26 nation but community leaders won't tell them which way to vote.
01:29 We let individuals make the decisions.
01:32 We don't necessarily promote yes or no.
01:35 The PM says a short, sharp election style campaign will precede the as yet unannounced
01:39 polling day with the hope that soft no's indicated in the polls can become hard yes's no matter
01:45 their background.
01:46 James Viver, ABC News, Canberra.
01:48 [BLANK_AUDIO]