Australia's 45th national referendum on Saturday 15 October has been run and lost, the resounding No vote leaving Yes voters devastated and voters of all persuasions wondering 'where to now?'

Around 60% of voters across the nation said No to the question whether to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

In our own electorate of Parkes, the No vote sits closer to 80%, recorded at 79.39% on Sunday evening with 1,885 envelopes still to be processed.

 While the commentary continues, the Western Plains App takes a quick look at which way the votes went in polling places across our licence area.

Our local communities are home to a large and growing proportion of First Nations people, so any decision impacting their future impacts all of us.

According to the 2021 Census, of the eleven local government areas in the western plains, four are in the top five areas of New South Wales with the greatest proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

• Brewarrina (51.4% of the total LGA population)
• Central Darling (36.5%) - not included in western plains coverage
• Coonamble (33.9%)
• Bourke (30.3%)
• Walgett (21.2%)

The remaining seven shires in our area also have Indigenous populations far exceeding the state average of 3.4% and the national average of 3.2%.

• Narromine (20.4%)
• Lachlan (18.3%)
• Bogan (17.8%)
• Warren (15.4%)
• Cobar (14.8%)
• Gilgandra (14.5%)
• Warrumbungle (10.7%)

At the last census in 2021, around two thirds (66.21%) of Indigenous Australians lived in Major Cities and Inner Regional areas.

In terms of actual individuals, the NSW LGA with the most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was the Central Coast (NSW), followed by Blacktown and Lake Macquarie. [2021 ABS Census] Still, Indigenous Australians made up only 4.9% of the total Central Coast population.

Referendum results as at 5:09pm Sunday 15 October

Local polling places across the west saw Yes votes ranging from 8.41% of votes counted at Tottenham to 61.84% of votes at Goodooga, which was the only centre where the YES vote was victorious.

The next highest percentages of Yes votes were at Brewarrina (34.55%), Walgett (34.47%) and Coonamble's referendum day polling booth (32.1%), although the Coonamble pre-poll centre saw 20.55% Yes voters.

Bourke registered Yes votes at 20.99% at their pre-polling centre and 24.77% at the booths on Saturday.

The five remote mobile teams operating in our electorate (outside Dubbo) saw 20.41% people vote Yes. However, Member for Parkes Mark Coulton says he has been contacted by residents in some areas who say that they weren't made aware of the visit by a Remote Voter Services team.

Mr Coulton says he has contacted the Australian Electoral Commission and encourages anyone who had the experience to call them as well.

"I believe there's an assumption that people Australia-wide receive all of their information online," Mr Coulton said. "This is just not true for remote areas or older Australians, many of whom are struggling to access voting opportunities.

"I have since been notified that this matter has been referred to the AEC’s State Office for further advice."

If you missed out on a Remote Voter Service call the AEC on 13 23 26. 

Check your local results

Source: https://tallyroom.aec.gov.au/ NOTE: PPVC = pre poll voting centre