ADELAIDE – In what observers are calling a landmark day for South Australian democracy, approximately 30,000 First Nations voters were handed two separate ballot papers on Saturday – one for the state election and one for the SA First Nations Voice – marking the first time many of them had been offered a choice about anything by a government that wasn’t also a survey.
The historic double vote unfolded smoothly at polling stations across the state where volunteers had been trained to explain the difference between the two ballots. “One is for the parliament that makes decisions about your life and the other is for the advisory body that politely suggests things to the parliament that makes decisions about your life” one electoral officer told voters at a suburban Adelaide booth.
Meanwhile One Nation celebrated its best result in any state or territory election since 1998 after outpolling the Liberal Party statewide. The party had campaigned on a pledge to introduce legislation repealing the Voice if elected. A spokesperson said the party was committed to “equal representation for all Australians” and would achieve this by removing the only elected body exclusively representing Aboriginal people.
“We believe every South Australian deserves a voice” the spokesperson said. “Except that one. That specific voice can go.”
The SA Liberals finished behind One Nation in primary votes – believed to be the first time the party has been outpolled by a minor party at a state election. A Liberal strategist said the result was “not ideal” but noted the party still had “strong brand recognition among people who remember the 1990s.”
Premier Peter Malinauskas declared Labor’s landslide a mandate to continue his government’s program and said he was “proud that South Australia remains the only state where First Nations people can vote for their own representative body using the actual word Voice without everyone having a meltdown.”
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