I will comment on selected quotes in order from the start of the article to the end - Quote 1 [Indigenous Territorians in remote electorates say sorry business and disillusionment after the Voice referendum likely contributed to low voter turnout in this year's Northern Territory election.]So we are expected to accept that voters wanted a "Voice enshrined in an altered Constitution" and when that failed they choose not to "speak their voice by the simple act of voting". Presumably risking a fine by no voting.
Quote 2 [NTEC Commissioner Kirsten Kelly said remote engagement teams spent five months educating voters across 70 communities in the lead up to the election, which included providing resources in Indigenous languages. During the two-week early voting period, 16 remote mobile voting teams visited more than 173 communities, she said. "While there are still ballot papers to be included in the count, the turnout number will be lower than in previous elections," she said. She said "anecdotal feedback included voter fatigue and general apathy".] So clearly the threat of fines for not performing your simple civic duty by voting when there is "Postal Voting" - "Early Voting" - and voting on the day - does not induce many to vote "Oh the difficulty"!!!
Quote 3 [Labor's Dheran Young, who has held onto his seat of Daly with a swing of about 5 per cent, said his victory was "bittersweet" in the face of a CLP landslide. Mr Young said he believed "people are still hurting from the referendum result, and definitely feel their voices aren't valued"."That's had a huge impact on voter turnout," he said."There's less confidence in the political system now."] If Mr Young is correct - clearly NT bush voters do not understand that they get one vote like all Australians - and it is exactly valued equally alongside all other Aussie's votes.
Quote 4 [Harold Dalywaters, an elder and traditional owner based in Elliott, said he campaigned for Labor in communities across the Barkly electorate, but said many residents were busy with family obligations. When he visited the remote community of Alpurrurulam, also known as Lake Nash, he said "a lot of the mob weren't there". "Some were at the rodeo … and some were at a funeral down south somewhere, so we couldn't get them to vote," he said. Mr Dalywaters said he also suspected some bush voters felt disheartened after Australians rejected a proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament, which received widespread support in remote NT communities."It makes sense," he said. "Why have we got to vote, when we haven't got a voice in Canberra, which got knocked back?"] Mr Dalywaters seems unaware that the Federal Parliament has 4.8% ATSI Members compared to the 3.2% of ATSI people in our population.https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp2223/Quick_Guides/IndigenousMPs2022 It is obvious from above stats that Aussie voters are colour blind when voting.
Quote 5 [Gurindji traditional owner Roslyn Frith, based in Kalkarindji in the electorate of Gwoja, said some residents missed out on voting due to "family issues", while others were busy preparing for community festivals. "Mainly it goes back to a lack of information going out," she said. "I heard some people say: 'Oh I don't want to vote this time. What are we gonna get out of it?'"Ms Frith said she doubted the Voice referendum had any impact on remote voting trends.The Country Liberal Party's successful election campaign hinged on a promise to reduce crime, but offered little else for the territory's most disadvantaged remote constituents.Although Ms Frith agreed crime was a key concern for remote voters, she said the biggest problem they faced was a chronic lack of housing.Looking ahead, she said she wanted to give the CLP a chance. "Change is good," she said. "Let us wait and sit back, and see what the CLP brings and what sort of connection they have to remote communities."] The mention of "What are we gonna get out of it?" sounds like echoes of "cargo cult" thinking to my ears.
