Port Fairy 'bucking the trend' as Voice referendum Yes corflutes decorate Liberal-voting town
/ By Daniel MilesDeep within the heart of one of Australia's safest Liberal seats, a group of retirees is helping a town change its stripes.
The quaint seaside town of Port Fairy in south-west Victoria sits in the safe Liberal federal seat of Wannon.
The electorate has been painted Liberal blue since former prime minister Malcolm Fraser was voted into power in 1955.
But a short drive through the town suggests the opposition party has made little to no headway when it comes to next month's referendum.
Fewer than 1,000 families call Port Fairy home, and the local Yes campaign estimates it has given Yes signs to about 150 of them, which have been erected in all corners of the town.
"I feel really proud of our people," said resident Monica Sammon, who heads up the local arm of the Yes campaign.
"Mainly because I don't think we're a population of activists — we're not Brunswick."
Ms Sammon was inspired to push the cause after a group of nearly 50 retirees took an adult education course in Indigenous history.
With a median resident age of 51, Port Fairy has a significantly older demographic than the surrounding towns of Warrnambool, Portland and Hamilton.
"If you just want to generalise, I guess the stereotype of our residents is that they would just be a straight out, No," Ms Sammon said.
"But I think our response has been incredible."
A safe Liberal seat
Federal Member for Wannon Dan Tehan has become the figurehead for south-west Victoria's No campaign.
"Look, there will always be certain parts of the electorate with certain views, just like there are when it comes to elections," Mr Tehan said.
"The most important thing about this referendum is, whether you're [voting] Yes or No, that you're able to freely express your opinion."
The Liberal Party's position has the visible support of at least two homes in Port Fairy, both of which feature homemade signs.
The ABC approached the home owners and neither were available for comment.
But not everybody is happy with the visible pro-Yes stance of some residents.
Various Yes signs in Port Fairy have been defaced or damaged, something Ms Sammon has taken with a grain of salt.
"We have had some signs vandalised, but we just put up a new one," she said.
The ABC has approached the official No campaign for comment.
'Bucking the trend'
Senior politics lecturer Geoff Robinson said he was amused but not surprised by the way Port Fairy was emerging.
He pointed to the town's support of independent candidate Alex Dyson in the latest federal election as proof of the town's individualism.
"I think it is bucking the trend, to a degree," Dr Robinson, from Deakin University, said.
"If you look at the demographic of Port Fairy, it does skew older, more Anglo-Saxon, more born in Australia."
Dr Robinson said that while the demographic was believed more likely to vote No, Port Fairy had gone against its historically conservative grain.
"There's a progressive aspect to the town as well," he said.
"And that's probably apparent in the terms of the on-the-ground Yes campaign."
It is something Monica Sammon is proud of.
"Most of us are of an older generation, and it became very clear to us that we weren't taught the true history of Australia," she said.
"And the more we learned, the more we felt like we needed to do something."
Moyne Shire Council was not taking a position on the vote, with a spokesperson stating it was a "federal issue".
Australians will head to the polls on October 14 to vote in the referendum.
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