Yes vote campaign ramps up in Wollongong as PM set to announce referendum date

What a week it’s been for the ‘vote yes’ campaign in Wollongong and organisers are promising this is only just the beginning as things are set to ramp up in the weeks ahead.

With the Prime Minister expected to announce the date for the referendum into Indigenous recognition and The Voice to Parliament in the next few days, our passionate band of well over 300 volunteers are gearing up to spread the ‘yes’ message far and wide across the city.

In the past week alone our campaign team has been sharing information and answering so many questions about the importance of the vote from thousands of locals in dozens of locations. Today I’d like to share just some of our latest high points. And every week those high points are getting higher.

We need a morale boost

We were outside WIN Stadium passing on information to spectators pouring in for the latest Dragons home game. While the Dragons season hasn’t been their best, we believe there’s still potential for a great morale-boosting winning result before year’s end if we can get this referendum vote across the line.

In recent days volunteers were on board to engage with the thousands of family members headed into the 2013 Southern Stars Spectacular at the WEC. While the kids on stage were undoubtedly (and appropriately) the stars for the night, our volunteers also deserve to take a bow.

"We’ve been really heartened by the response right across the board," said Yes volunteer and Wollongong’s current Citizen of the Year, Sally Stevenson, who's been seen everywhere as a champion for the campaign.

Yes hero Pat Farmer hits town

Giving a major boost to the campaign late in the week, former federal Liberal MP and ultramarathon runner Pat Farmer jogged into town. Having run all the way around Australia in support of the Yes campaign, Pat will always be remembered as the person who's covered more ground than anyone else, getting the message out to Australians in cities, towns, villages and some of our most remote communities.

Pat started his run in Hobart in April and will have covered more than 14,000 kilometres when he finishes his epic effort in Uluru.

"We’ve got one chance in a lifetime, in my lifetime, to be able to vote yes," Pat said, as he arrived in Wollongong and then Port Kembla, joined on the journey by other keen runners and supporters of the Yes campaign.

Numbers nearing 400

Wollongong’s Yes campaign leader, John Corker, says volunteer numbers here have swelled to nearly 400 and continue to grow daily.

"The steady surge in the number of volunteers in this region is really heartening. People of all ages are putting their hands up to join our efforts to better inform our community about the issues and the importance of this referendum," John said.

"We’re finding large numbers of people we speak with aren’t fully across the benefits of a Yes vote and have valued the chance to become better informed."

Anyone wanting to volunteer is asked to go to the Yes23 website and to punch in their postcode to get more information on the local campaign and how they can help.

"With the date of the vote expected to be confirmed this week, we hope this will increase our numbers and focus the broader community on getting all the information they need before casting their vote," John Corker added.

Enter campaign director Dean Parkin

Any nationwide campaign such as this needs incredibly strong leadership. Dean Parkin, one of the Yes23 campaign directors, came to the Illawarra this past week and met our volunteers and locals at North Beach, which is fast becoming the go-to place for our campaign efforts – and what a great place to go to!

"You’ve got to put it in the context that there’s an end in sight," Dean said. "We know that there’s a lot more work to do, there’s many more agendas that are running alongside.

"But the reality of the campaign is that there is going to be a black and white, yes/no end. We’re going to know."

Leaving no stone unturned

The local campaign team is continuing to drum up support and is leaving no stone unturned getting information to voters.

At Eat Street in the Mall on Thursday night a ‘Vote Yes Flash Mob’ caught the crowd by surprise with a creative music and dance pitch for votes.

Back in the Mall at the Friday markets we spoke to hundreds of shoppers. If you’re wanting a chat and more information about the referendum, that’s a great place to find us. We’re there every week between 11am and 2pm.

On Saturday,  volunteers hit the streets again. This week’s doorknocking effort was focused on homes in Farmborough Heights and it was great chatting with the locals there.

Coming right up for Yes

It’s another crazy busy week ahead. On Thursday our volunteers will be in Bulli and Helensburgh and there’s another doorknock afternoon planned in Woonona on Friday.

On Saturday from 5pm there’s a free musical event Voices for the Voice at the fab live music venue, The Servo in Port Kembla.

And it’s back to (you guessed it) North Gong Beach from 9am on Sunday, September 3 for our monthly gathering.

Okay, it may be Father’s Day but rock up, bring your cozzies if you’re keen, and hear from some of our local legends about why everyone in the Illawarra, and everyone in Australia should vote ‘yes’ and be a part of history.

About the writer

Jeremy Lasek has many decades of experience in media, marketing, events and PR. His career began in the Illawarra with the Lake Times, ABC Radio and WIN-TV. For eight years Jeremy was news director for WIN in Canberra and was national news director before joining the National Capital Authority as head of media and events. Jeremy was executive director of ACT Government Communications, Events, Arts, Heritage and Protocol for many years, was Chief of Staff to the ACT Chief Minister and had responsibility for the Centenary of Canberra celebrations in 2013. Before returning to Wollongong, Jeremy was CEO of the National Australia Day Council (including the Australian of the Year Awards) and head of communications for the Australian Federal Police. He’s currently volunteering on the YES23 campaign.