Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum: Aboriginal elder Ned Hargraves will vote No

An Aboriginal elder has revealed he will vote against the Voice to Parliament unless it is delayed to allow more time for Australians to know what they are voting for.

Ned Hargraves, who is an elder of the Warlpiri people in a rural area of the Northern Territory, north-west of Alice Springs, argued there is a significant lack of information regarding the Voice.

Mr Hargraves called on the government to delay the referendum, which will happen in the last quarter of 2023, as several questions about the Voice remain unanswered.

The elder wants to know how an advisory body can guarantee important issues in the Indigenous community will be addressed.

He is also seeking to understand how it can guarantee the laws and traditions from every Aboriginal tribe will acknowledged – with more than 400 distinct tribes scattered around Australia.

While a majority of Aboriginal Australians continue to support the Voice, polling suggests residents across the country are becoming increasingly opposed to it.

Mr Hargraves told the ABC he was concerned about the ramifications of the referendum passing without Indigenous communities being properly informed about what it entails.

‘My people need to know exactly what we want. What are we saying yes to?’ he said.

‘If I give you a written paper in my language and you try to read it and try to understand it, would you sign it?’ 

The Aboriginal elder highlighted concerns the Voice would have little impact to curb issues currently faced by Indigenous Australians, such as the disproportionate percentage of First Nations people in prison.

According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in June of last year, 31 per cent of all prisoners were Aboriginal or Torres Straight Islanders – despite the Indigenous community representing 3.1 per cent of the total population.

Of those in prison, 78 per cent had already spent time in the prison system for prior offences.  

Mr Hargraves also said specific issues relating to individual tribes could be miscommunicated if only a ‘general’ Voice to Parliament passes.

‘When you look at … our Dreamings, our laws, we don’t want another person who doesn’t know my Tjukurpa, my dreamings, to handle it,’ Mr Hargraves said.

Although currently being on the same side of the debate as MP and leader of the No campaign Jacinta Price, Mr Hargraves said he did not back her.

‘I’m not a fan of Jacinta. But I am for my people,’ he said. 

Mr Hargraves raised concerns The Voice could miss on making change over current Indigenous issues and miscommunicate issues presented by individual tribes

According to polling from the national broadcaster, which averages national polls on the Voice, support for the referendum has started to dwindle.

The binary poll shows Australians are starting to become more conditioned with voting no on the referendum as the voting date draws closer.

A March poll by YouGov, which surveyed 732 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, showed 83 per cent of Indigenous Australians support the Voice.

Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney had recently claimed that the No campaign had adopted ‘Trump-style politics’ to derail support for the Voice.

‘The aim is to polarise, to sow division in our society by making false claims,’ she told the Press Gallery last week.

‘Do not let the No campaign get away with using Trump-style politics. Do not let them divide us.’

In June, a Newspoll showed overall support for the Voice plunged three points to just 43 per cent.

The No vote rose four points, to 47 per cent, putting it ahead for the time since Newspoll began tracking support.