Bendigo votes on the Voice referendum

At Eaglehawk, though, voters were queuing out the door of the primary school hall and waiting up to 15 minutes to cast their ballots.

"No" volunteer Neil Jennings said the crowd wasn't as bad as it had been during the first couple of days of pre-polling this week, when at peak periods people waited up to 45 minutes.

Mr Jennings was restocked with how-to-vote cards by organiser Ben Mihail, who was concerned about his supply.

Inside the school's gates a security guard surveyed the scene, having been deployed by there by the AEC after a clash between volunteers from the two camps during the week.

But around the electorate the mood was calm, and by all reports, generally polite and respectful.

"Everybody's been quite civil and quite nice, "yes" volunteer Declan Doyle said. "It's been a good experience."

Ben Mihail, like others involved in campaigning, was enthusiastic about democracy in action.

"At the end of the day this is a democratic process. I think it's great to see," he said.

"This is what the process is: that Australia has its say."

Your say - Meghan Kelly: "I voted 'yes' because I think it's important for Aboriginal people to be able to have a say in the policies affecting their lives.

Your say - Jonathan Haines: "Indigenous people were never involved in the discussion about this country in the first place. So it's about time they were. There's so much inter-generational trauma but people don't see that for some reason, which is pretty sad."

There were, of course, a range of reasons from voters the Advertiser spoke to for the way the choice they had made - the notion of increasing taxes significant among them.

"You don't vote for an entity that's going to take money from your tax without knowing what it is," one middle-aged male voter at Eaglehawk said.

A couple with young children said the cost of living was by necessity their major concern.

"Yes, [Aboriginal people] should have more of a Voice but at what cost? Taxes will go up because of this sort of thing," the father said.

Sandra Harrison, at Lightning Reef, had a different focus.

"I've got Aboriginal family and I just want the best for them really, so I voted yes," she said.

Jonathan Haines at Eaglehawk said he found it sad that many Australians didn't recognise high levels of "inter-generational trauma" among Aboriginal people, who needed to be "involved in the discussion about this country".

At Eaglehawk Jesse Feller was far from alone in his view that the referendum had been an unnecessarily divisive exercise. "Let's hope the right vote gets up - 'no' - and we stop dividing the nation."

Others, like Sam Buchan, said simply that they "believe in the Voice". "I voted 'yes'. I believe in the Voice. I think Aboriginal people should have a voice in our constitution and parliament."

Meanwhile, the enterprising McKern-Ritchie kids were taking advantage of the opportunity to sell their lolly bags, cupcakes, and brownies, with the funds from some books also on sale to go to the fire brigade.

By 1pm they had made $20.

At Golden Square in the afternoon Dja Dja Wurrung leader Rodney Carter was joined on the hustings by local state member Maree Edwards and, later, federal MP Lisa Chesters.

The Djaara CEO was "sort of confident" about a positive result in the electorate.

"I just think Central Victorians are really progressive," he said.

"In terms of social justice, people are prepared to do what's important."

Ms Edwards was, likewise, optimistic, that the "yes" vote would be strong in the electorate, which also takes in towns like Castlemaine and Maldon.

"Progressive leadership leads to progressive outcomes," she said.

"We have progressive leadership here with the Dja Dja Wurrung and the state and federal governments so you would hope that would be reflected in the outcome of today's referendum."

If the result was "no", Ms Edwards said, it just meant continuing to work at the relationship with Indigenous people.

"In Victoria we're already leading the way with our First Nations Assembly, which Rodney is a member of, and the treaty, and we'll keep working on that," she said.

For Mr Carter, if the Voice was defeated, he wouldn't be able to help feeling sorry, he said.

"But it's a matter of blame or fault. It's about maturity," he said.

"And hopefully we show leadership in this state."

Your Say - Sharon Moore: "I just think they should let it be. Why change something that's not broken? I think Albanese wants to do it for his own sake. If the "yes" vote gets through, it'll divide the country."

Your Say - Linda Rayner: "I voted 'no'. Because I reckon everybody's the same."

THE VOICE: OUR COVERAGE

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