Pilbara remote Aboriginal community support for Voice strong despite the heavy No vote in division of Durack

The Voice to Parliament referendum was handily defeated last Saturday but support remained strong in the remote communities of the Pilbara.. In the division of Durack, 72.2 per cent of voters voted No to Indigenous constitutional recognition through an enshrined Voice to Parliament. To enable referendum participation for remote communities, nine mobile voting teams were deployed in the division of Durack including three in the Pilbara. The three Pilbara teams recorded an average of 71.5 per cent Yes vote across their locations with the strongest support coming from team four, which travelled throughout the East Pilbara visiting Jigalong, Parnngurr, and Punmu communities among others. While the referendum was defeated, Pilbara MLA Kevin Michel said the State Government remained committed to closing the gap for Aboriginal communities in the region through other measures. “Western Australia has led the nation in recognising and working with Aboriginal people to deliver real outcomes across our community,” he said. “In 2015, we amended the WA Constitution to acknowledge Aboriginal people as the First People of Western Australia and the traditional custodians of the land. “We have also reinvigorated the Aboriginal Advisory Council of WA, which will continue to provide important advice to the State Government on matters relating to Aboriginal people. “Our Government is committed to keep working with Aboriginal people and the Commonwealth, to meet our Closing the Gap targets, to deliver better economic and social outcomes for Aboriginal people in the Pilbara and across WA.” Team four recorded an 80.2 per cent Yes vote, team eight which visited locations around Nullagine and Warralong recorded 64.4 per cent, and team nine which visited locations in the West Pilbara recorded 70 per cent.