Vote referendum: One image of Brisbane homes shows a nation divided over the October 14 vote
A single image of two neighboring houses illustrates how divided Australia is over the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
Neighboring houses on the esplanade in Brisbane’s bayside suburb of Wynnum are advocating different positions on the referendum, which will be held on October 14.
The house on the right, painted black, has an Aboriginal flag made from the garage door and ‘Yes Vote’ posters hanging in the windows.
Meanwhile, right next door, there’s a stark white house with an Australian flag and a ‘Vote No to Division’ poster on the second-floor balcony.
David and Belinda Goodwin, who live in the house promoting a No vote, told A Current Affair their views could not be further different from those of their neighbours.
The two houses on the esplanade in Brisbane’s bayside suburb of Wynnum are advocating different positions on the referendum, which will be held on October 14.
‘We have an Australian flag, they have an Aboriginal flag. They’re vegans from Melbourne, we’re a bunch of Catholics with a huge family from Queensland, so I don’t think you can get more contrasting views,” Mr Goodwin said.
‘This has generated a lot of discussion. I’ve had a lot of letters in the mailbox, people shouting, I have a sticker on my car so people stop and talk.’
He said he enjoys the contrast between the two homes and insists there is no bad blood with his neighbors – a young couple who did not want to be identified.
The nation is divided over the Voice, with support falling with each new poll.
The house on the right, painted black, has turned the garage door into an Aboriginal flag and has ‘Vote Yes’ posters in the windows
Meanwhile, just next door, a stark white house with an Australian flag and a ‘Vote No to Division’ poster hanging from its second-floor balcony.
The Resolve Political Monitor’s latest survey, published in Nine newspapers on Monday, found that 43 percent of voters supported a plan to enshrine the Vote in the Constitution, a drop of 20 percentage points from a year ago.
The percentage of Australians in favor of the referendum has fallen for the fifth month in a row and since the last survey Victoria has swung to a majority ‘No’, leaving Tasmania as the only state left in the ‘Yes’ camp.
For The Voice to succeed, the Yes campaign needs more than 50 percent of the vote nationwide and in four of the six states.
The weakening support for The Voice has also had a knock-on effect on its biggest backer – the Labor government – with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese seeing his net performance rating fall to minus 7 percent.
Despite support in the polls declining across the board, Yes campaigners are still confident in their pitch, saying the feedback they are getting on the ground is vastly different from the polls.
Voting in the referendum is mandatory, and failure to do so could result in fines.