Federal Liberal Senator Kerrynne Liddle has criticised the state Labor government for its "prioritising of ideology" after a second low voter turnout in the South Australian Voice elections.
The second iteration of the Voice held its elections alongside the SA state election on March 21. Despite what Attorney-General Kyam Maher described as a "significant jump" of about 25 per cent in turnout, only 3,308 votes were cast from more than 30,000 eligible Indigenous voters— less than 11 per cent.
Unlike federal and state elections, voting in South Australia's Voice elections is not compulsory.
While this was slightly higher than the turnout of less than 10 per cent at the 2024 election, opponents of the Voice have renewed their criticism of the body's necessity after The Australian reported 12 of the 46 successful candidates received fewer than 20 first-preference votes, including one elected with just six.
Senator Liddle, the former opposition spokesperson for Indigenous affairs, said the Voice was an expensive operation that fails to offer "measurable improvement in the lives of those it is intended to help".
The first Indigenous federal politician from South Australia said the low turnout "demonstrated limited appetite for this structure and few outcomes that can be directly attributed to it".
"Labor cannot claim a mandate when two delegates are elected with just 15 primary votes, and six female delegates are elected without receiving a single vote — appointed solely to satisfy gender balance requirements," she argued.
"The millions already spent on the Voice could have been directed toward Closing the Gap targets which have continued to move in the wrong direction since 2022 under state and federal Labor governments."
In the West Coast Voice, female candidates Rebecca Miller, Evelyn Walker and Lorraine Haseldine were all elected unopposed — with no votes — because the legislation reserves three positions for women in each regional Voice. A similar outcome also occurred in the Yorke and Mid North Voice.
The Voice, a 2022 election promise from the then Peter Malinauskas-led Labor opposition, did not require a constitutional change, unlike the proposed federal model. The state government has defended its value, pointing to recommendations such as specialised housing for remand prisoners, which it says has saved taxpayers more than $1.5 million.
"If you are an economic rationalist, you should be supporting the Voice," Mr Maher told The Australian.
"The idea to build that 30-man bail hostel came from the Voice at a cost to government of $1.37m a year, compared to the cost of having these men in jail on remand at $3.01m a year. That one bit of advice is saving taxpayers money and it is exactly the kind of practical solutions that the Voice is designed to provide."
Senator Liddle said similar recommendations had already appeared in "countless reports that have long been gathering dust".
Noting "mechanisms for consultation already exist," she called on Labor to "stop the duplication, admit it got this wrong, and redirect its energy to what actually matters".
Separate concerns about the conduct of the election have also emerged. On Monday, the ABC reported some voters were questioned about their racial background at polling booths, while others faced hours-long waits.
The reports have prompted Mr Maher to say he will consider ordering an independent review.
"It is disappointing the feedback that I've received personally about people who struggled to cast a vote, or in some cases weren't aware that they could cast a vote, or in other cases weren't able to do so," he told the ABC.
