Voice 'Yes' and 'No' campaign volunteers threatened by abuse

"It's just [become] really angry and nasty," Bendigo for Yes campaign co-ordinator Sue Fricke told the Advertiser on Tuesday.

"It's gone from, you know, 'We have our opinion' to 'We don't want you to have your opinion and we're going to be really rude and dismissive about it'."

As well as defacing corflutes, their opponents were yelling at volunteers from passing cars, Ms Fricke said.

READ MORE: Before you vote, this is the 12 minute read on the Voice you need

"We had a man stop in the middle of the busy traffic - he pulled over to get out of his car and start waving his fist at us from across the road."

Schoolboys in Catherine McAuley College uniform had been involved in several incidents - on one occasion yelling "Vote no" at Ms Fricke as she walked past.

On another a boy yelled the slogan from the window of a passing car, while in a third encounter another boy told volunteers they would be better off staying home, Ms Fricke said.

Catherine McAuley College principal Brian Turner told the Advertiser the reported behaviour was "unacceptable" and "disappointing" and he expected the school would get to the bottom of who was involved.

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Bendigo volunteer Bernadette said putting on a "yes" T-shirt or badge guaranteed negative public feedback.

The worst incident for her was at the Showgrounds market, where she was told, "This is a trash and treasure market, and you're the trash!".

But she had taught herself not to take it personally, she said. "I know it's not about us, it's about the issue so that's why I don't take it on.

She was worried, though, that "that anger is going to continue for Aboriginal people until people are better educated".

"Yes" volunteer John estimated that in the past month of campaigning he had heard eight racist comments, which brought up memories for him of being "a migrant kid who was racially vilified".

The comments were not "name calling", he said, but "scoffing" and expressions of contempt.

Ms Fricke said there had also been intimidatory one-on-one incidents at the booths.

On Saturday at Bath Lane, a "no" voter had taken written material from a pro-Voice volunteer, ripped it up and thrown it on the ground while the "no" booth manager looked on, Ms Fricke said.

"He just stood there and watched like that was totally acceptable behaviour," she said.

At Eaglehawk on Monday, a "no" campaigner had been goading a "feisty" 72-year-old Aboriginal volunteer in the hope of provoking and recording an outburst from her.

"He was filming her, and being really rude and aggressive, with a phone in her face, trying to get her to respond," Ms Fricke said.

"Things have got feral and I don't feel safe, and I don't think some of my volunteers feel safe either."

However, Bendigo "no" campaign organiser Dan Straub contacted the Advertiser on Friday afternoon to "provide context" to the filming incident at Eaglehawk.

The "yes" campaigners had been yelling over the top of his volunteer, who felt threatened and was trying to de-escalate the situation, Mr Straub claimed.

The "yes" volunteers had wanted his video to be deleted and the volunteer was "quite upset about the idea", because there was no legal reason for it, so Mr Straub had suggested both parties report the incident to the AEC.

Neither had wanted to but after reading about it in the Advertiser, the "no" volunteer had done so, he said.

Mr Straub said overall his campaign volunteers had been "somewhat under pressure by tactics that are disrespectful and somewhat intimidating".

Former One Nation candidate Ben Mihail, another Bendigo "no" campaign spokesperson, said campaigning on the issue was "a delicate conversation to have" and that "people tend to get a bit heated at times".

He was unaware of the incidents raised by Ms Fricke but said he would defend volunteers for either side of the referendum question who were being treated badly.

"If I see anyone being uncivil, I will step in and try and de-escalate the situation because no-one deserves that sort of treatment under any circumstances," he said.

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Two "no" volunteers handing out voting material on Wednesday told the Advertiser they had each had an abusive encounter.

"One female was being totally abusive about what we stand for," Glenda Curran said.

"I just stared her down."

Glenis, in Bath Lane, said a "portly, elderly man" had told her, "You ought to be ashamed of yourself," and "This is Aboriginal land".

Federal Bendigo MP Lisa Chesters said she was disappointed to hear reports of anti-social behaviour around the early voting centres.

"One of the great things about our democracy is that people have a right to express their views but this should be done respectfully," she said.

"There is absolutely no place for harassment and intimidation at voting booths and any incidents should be reported to the AEC or local police".

This article was updated at 4pm on October 13 to include the claim by "no" campaign coordinator Dan Straub that his volunteer was filming a "yes" campaigner at Eaglehawk because he was trying to de-escalate a heated situation.

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