Benalla raises its #Voice for ‘Yes’ as ‘No’ goes low

ON WEDNESDAY EVENING 80 to 100 people gathered to hear, Senator Jana Stewart, Helen Haines MP and Shepparton Councillor Greg James make ‘The Case For Yes’ in Victoria’s north east at The Glasshouse, hosted by Benalla for Yes.

Benalla for Yes is one of the hundreds of supporter groups scattered around the nation holding footpath conversations, information nights, walks and running phone banks and events, that for one group in Victoria’s south west morphed into a full-blown music concert.

Indi’s community independent campaign didn’t win the Benalla booth until the 2022 election, the town held out longer than the once staunch conservative Mansfield, a short drive away up a nearby hill – it’ll be a tough one to win.

People filed into the venue past a table on the left with ‘Yes’ badges, stickers, pamphlets and a transparent campaign fundraising box and on the right a set of keyboards. Each seat carried a copy of the lyrics to John Farnham’s, You’re the Voice.

Also on the table was a document: Aboriginal people, colonisation and the frontier war in Benalla and North-East Victoria.

The only ‘No’ campaign until this weekend has been a small band of “tinfoil-hat-wearing bonkers-mad conspiracy” theorists who, I’m told, constantly tell people they’re uneducated.

The group, A Stand in the Park Benalla had originally co-opted the Aboriginal flag, turning into a ‘No’ banner and were distributing unlawful campaign material. They’re advocating a ‘No’ vote.

Over the border in NSW, A Stand in the Park Albury are campaigning for people NOT to vote in the “fraudulent referendum” – both groups seem loosely connected and organise on Facebook.

I’ve been to a lot of political events in Benalla since, Cathy McGowan’s 2013 election campaign and I’d expected to recognise at least 80% of faces in the room, so it stood out when I recognised so few. People who don’t know are finding out?

When I spoke to Benalla for Yes organiser, Linda Tullberg in early September, she told me the group had around 60 Volunteers, some more active than others, and more joining every day.

Benalla for Yes includes people from Labor, Greens, Haines/McGowan campaigns, indigenous elders and for some it’s the first time they’ve campaigned.

Uncle Lance James’ gave the Welcome to Country and during his speech spoke of conflicts between local Indigenous families, highly emotive for the few local Indigenous people I know, specifically to note that on Voice they stand together – it’s a ‘Yes’.

Aunty Cheryl Cooper who’s been fundraising for the local ‘Yes’ campaign by making towels to sell, read the Uluru Statement Statement from the Heart.

As Aunty Cheryl read the Statement and I walked around taking photos, my mind wandered to reflect on what I’ve observed leading into and during the campaign so far.

Yes23 building a campaigning beast to work with communities and since the referendum date was announced, rapidly increasing on the ground activity – Advance running a multi-platform media strategy, phone banks, stunts (there will be more) and mailouts mostly synchronised with Canberra Coalition talking points.

Advance are ‘flooding the zone’ on social media. They can’t touch this ‘Yes’ campaign’s national ground game. [Shout out to MC Hammer and his ‘Yes’ support.]

This referendum is Astroturf versus communities and if a community campaign’s big enough, I’ll back it to win every time.

‘Yes’ campaign events like the one in Benalla on Wednesday are happening around the nation, in great numbers – last weekend 200,000 took to the streets to support ‘Yes’.

I’ve always believed the Yes23 campaign design was solid, but also that I wouldn’t know for sure until the campaign started. Would enough Australians turn up to make it work?

So, as Aunty Cheryl read from her sheet of paper, I started believing enough Australians are turning up to walk with First Nations.

Normally I record campaign events, listening isn’t something I do well while taking photos. But I forgot – shame, I would’ve liked to listen properly to what Cr Greg James from Shepparton had to say.

Indigenous musician Briggs, who was born in Shepparton, is promoting a concert Now and Forever on Friday 6, October which is about 60km from Benalla. The hook:

Don’t know? Come to the show!

There HAS to be a way to get @MCHammer to Now & Forever?! 2 Legit 2 Quit! https://t.co/9FQanB4cXa https://t.co/rwxFIM6z9q pic.twitter.com/EbxEERO8Du

— Senator Briggs (Biblically Accurate) (@Briggs) September 23, 2023

When Senator Stewart took to the stage in Benalla she did so with her young son, Ari. The Voice to Parliament referendum is about future generations – Ari’s presence reminded me, and hopefully others, of that.

Things are not rosy around the Voice to Parliament campaign in Benalla. Shop owners and their staff are being harassed and abused for displaying ‘Yes’ campaign material. There’s been racist graffiti and “Vote No” sprayed onto the walls of businesses and even an historic railway building.

Police have spoken to the local campaigns about the behaviour they expect over the next few weeks.

There’s a small group of extremists, led by a far right racist who’s collected a bunch of anti-vaxxer/WiFi conspiracy theorist/sovereign citizen types, campaigning for ‘No’ and until today’s farmers market, there’s been no Liberal, Nationals or Advance presence in town.

Interestingly, the first day a Coalition partner has a presence in town, the Nationals staffed by a woman from Albury, the far right led A Stand in the Park Benalla starts using Advance campaign material.

Perhaps someone from the Press Gallery might ask the Opposition Leader, Peter Dutton, if the Liberal campaign group, Advance is working with small far right and extremist groups like the one in Benalla?

During the speeches, I looked out through The Glasshouse window and saw a nice glowing twilight outside, good for photos, and also wondered if the local cranks might be up to mischief in the carpark – I walked outside for a moment.

When I went back into the hall, Haines was telling the crowd she’s come across people who say they couldn’t care less about the referendum, so she gave everyone a slogan for those conversations.

Couldn’t care less? Vote Yes

Haines

One of the other people sharing the stage on Wednesday night was a local year 12 student, Jacob Livingston who read out an essay he wrote with an important reminder about the protection and preservation of Indigenous cultures.

When Gaagudju elder Big Bill Neidjie passed away in 2002, Indigenous Australian peoples lost an outstanding leader who constantly endeavoured to preserve his culture and to bridge the divide between black and white Australians. But with the passing of Neidjie, the Gaagudju language, formerly spoken in lands encompassed today by Kakadu National Park, was lost. Neidjie was the last fluent speaker of the Gaagudju language.

A constant argument from the ‘No’ campaign is a Constitutional Voice to Parliament will one day, when Closing the Gap targets are met, be unnecessary and another referendum will be required to remove it.

Indigenous Australians will always need to be heard on laws and commercial interests that impact them and their cultures. There will always be bad faith politicians.

Indigenous Australians must be empowered to have a voice in national conversations about them.

A Voice to Parliament will never be unnecessary.

Livingston has joined the Benalla for Yes campaign.

Time was getting on and a now restless, Ari had already made a couple of breaks for freedom, and while Stewart was busy talking he came close to succeeding until Haines stepped in.

As the lyric sheet on everyone’s chair implied, the night was over after a rousing rendition of You’re the Voice.