Indigenous campaigner’s swipe on the Voice

A prominent Indigenous academic, lawyer and campaigner who remains undecided on the Voice to parliament has revealed what is swaying her to vote yes in the upcoming referendum.

Wiradjuri woman Taylah Gray revealed on ABC’s QandA program that she’s unsure whether she will vote yes or no to the landmark decision on Indigenous recognition in the constitution.

“I don’t know at this point because I don’t think I could put it down to a yes-or-no vote,” she said on the program.

The rest of the panel was then asked for their opinion on how they would vote in the upcoming referendum, with Manager of Opposition Business Paul Fletcher avoiding answering the question of his personal opinion on the Voice.

The crowd then began to heckle after chief executive of the Space Industry Association of Australia James Brown revealed he would vote against the Voice.

“I am someone who I think is fair-minded, who wants to see reconciliation, but will be voting no on this referendum … my concern is that the potential risks of a yes on this referendum outweigh the benefits,” he said.

A member of the crowd shouted “shame on you” at Mr Brown.

“I think there’s a number of people who are weighing the question, as others on the panel are, who don’t want to go into a polling booth and be told they’re a racist if they oppose this referendum,” he said.

Mr Brown, the former son-in-law of ex-pime minister and Voice supporter Malcolm Turnbull, has also thrown his hat in the ring for the Liberal preselection to replace the late Jim Molan in the Senate.

Ms Gray then said despite her doubts about the Voice, she may be inclined to vote yes considering those who are going to be voting no.

“The more people whose views I don‘t align with say no the more I’m inclined to say yes,” she said. That response was met with cheers from some members of the crowd, however, her statement came with caveats.

“People are wanting to know more about where they stand in the community, there‘s questions,” she said,

“There’s opposing opinions and First Nation voices in the community that haven’t been heard yet.”