Yes campaign to push Voice in ag regions

A small contingent of campaigners are fighting an uphill battle to turn the tide in WA’s agriculture regions where support for the Voice is believed to be languishing.

About 50 people mostly representing progressive agriculture firms gathered at Dyoondalup (Point Walter) on Saturday afternoon to argue there were farmers supportive of the voice.

Noongar Land Enterprise Group chief executive and Yes campaigner Alan Beattie said the Yes campaign needed to provide balance to what had been an effective anti-Voice push in regional WA.

“There are a lot of country people who support the voice, but are finding it difficult to be heard,” he said.

“There needs to be some civility to the way this whole thing is being handled so that if you and I are going into the pub together and you're no and I'm a yes, then we can still sit down have a beer together.

“All we can do is try and get that balance out there.”

Mr Beattie said farming practices in WA could benefit from listening to Aboriginal people.

The event came during a weekend in which the Yes campaign sprung to life with rallies across the country amid polls suggesting the referendum is headed for defeat.

A March from Perth Stadium to Goongoongup (Claisebrook Cove) on Sunday drew some 8000 supporters and a host of high profile personalities including Premier Roger Cook, former Indigenous Affairs Minister Ken Wyatt, former premier Alan Carpenter, actor Ernie Dingo and a host of sitting state and federal MPs.

“I want to thank the first nations people of Australia for being so welcoming, so open with their heart and giving us this opportunity to reconcile this country,” Mr Cook said.

“I am optimistic and I refuse to accept that Australians accept division, accept fear, accept misinformation.”

The weekend of action comes as the WA Liberal Party mulls a motion before its conference in October to take the most hardline stance in the nation against a voice to state parliament.

The motion, put forward by the Liberal Women’s Council, calls on the party to oppose any move for a constitutional or legislated voice to WA parliament.

Victoria already has a voice to parliament, South Australia will be voting its first voice in next year, and several other jurisdictions are debating the merits of setting one up.

The WA National Party last month voted at its state conference to backtrack support of the federal voice.