As politicians scrap over the merits of an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, local leaders say next month's referendum result will in fact hinge on conversations being had between everyday Australians.
Take Jethro Sercombe, for example, who has invited his neighbours around for a cuppa to talk about the Voice.
"We know that we aren't going to win this by having arguments on social media," said Mr Sercombe, who will vote Yes on October 14.
"This campaign will be won by having those quiet conversations with your friends and your family around the kitchen table or from one of us coming to knock on your door and say hi."
Doorknocking around his neighbourhood in Perth, Mr Sercombe said he'd come across many undecided voters, as well as people who simply didn't know how the referendum process worked.
It's something Fatima Faqiri has also been doing in her community.
The Hazara woman has visited hundreds of homes in Perth's south-eastern suburbs doorknocking for the Yes campaign.
Ms Faqiri said she could empathise with Indigenous Australians due to her community's experience of being persecuted by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
She said many people she had spoken to didn't understand what the Voice was, but were on board once educated about it.
"If people are unsure, they either are going to not put anything [on the poll] or they're going to put a No," Ms Faqiri said.
She said misinformation was running rife in the community and much more needed to be done to get through to multicultural communities.
"Some people in my community [say] they are confused," she said.
It's something multicultural community advocate Suresh Rajan is also well aware of.
Mr Rajan said the concept of a referendum "may be alien" to many in culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and that often left them out of the democratic process.
"It's very much a case of an information session and teaching people about a referendum and what it means to Aboriginal people," the Yes campaign supporter said.
Mr Rajan, alongside other multicultural and Indigenous community leaders, has been hosting information sessions targeted at demographics such as migrants, refugees and non-English speakers.
"There are lots of soft No's, but we're trying to change them to hard Yes's by the time it comes down to the vote," he said.
Kitchen table talk the key
While many corporations and businesses have shown support for the Voice, it's rarer to find grassroots community groups siding with the No camp, according to UWA Public Policy Institute Associate Professor Paul Maginn.
Professor Maginn said there may be a perception that doing so carried a "social risk".
"I suppose it's bad PR," he suggested.
Professor Maginn believed the referendum would come down to the discussions happening in Australia's suburbs and towns.
"There'll be lots of conversations around the kitchen table and in homes," he said.
"If we think about where this will be won or lost in overall terms and in terms of the number of voters, it's going to be in the suburbs."
Professor Maginn believed things could change in either direction in the coming weeks.
"We're six weeks out. Roughly a week is a long time in politics, so six weeks is an eternity," he said.
Referendum dollars better spent elsewhere
More than 1,000 people attended the Liberal Party's No campaign launch in Perth recently, with their minds firmly made up.
Perth local John McKenzie said he understood what the Voice was attempting to do, but didn't believe it was needed.
"I've always had respect for Aboriginal people … [but] this referendum, it does look like we're voting to divide us up on the basis that we're mistreating Aboriginal people, but we're not," he said.
"The way I see it, the No vote will actually make sure that we, as people of Australia, are focused more on what Aboriginal people are deprived of."
Another No voter, Jean, told the ABC the millions of dollars being spent on the referendum should go towards hospitals and health services.
"Why can't they spend the money on doing something good for the country instead of trying to pull us down," she said.
Jean said the discussion around the Voice had created a rift.
"We're supposed to be the best multicultural country in the world, and I've never known people to hate each other so much," she said.
"What difference does it make when you bleed … you all bleed the same red blood."
Serena also agreed, arguing the Voice would be "bad news for Australia" and "incredibly divisive".
"Why should certain people have rights and others don't … it's just, it's not fair," she said.
"It's not the Australian way in my opinion."
Serena said she was also concerned people didn't have enough detail and would vote blindly.
"Our slogan is, 'if you don't know, vote no is the way to go', because we will be paying for this for years if this [referendum] gets up," she said.
'If you don't know, ask'
Wungening Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Daniel Morrison-Bird said it was up to voters to research what they were voting for.
But he said there were significant challenges in getting the information out.
"If we can't get our own community aware of what the voice would do to be a benefit to the community … then how can we expect the wider community to really back it?" he asked.
"I think we all need to really think long and hard, really get informed.
"If you don't know, ask questions … if you don't know, come and talk and have conversations."
For Mr Morrison-Bird, the community response has been positive and "worthwhile".
But he said it would be "heartbreaking" if the referendum didn't end in a Yes vote.
"It'll be a very sad day when we wake up and find out that the No has won," Mr Morrison-Bird said.
"It won't be the country that I thought Australia was and is going to be."
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2023-09-16 00:18:38Z
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