Rugby League Star Nathan Cleary Declares Support for The Voice

Nathan Cleary of the Panthers (L) and Moses Leota of the Panthers greet fans during the 2023 NRL Grand Final at BlueBet Stadium in Penrith off Sydney, Australia on Oct. 2, 2023. Jenny Evans/Getty Images

Australian National Rugby League (NRL) star Nathan Cleary has publicly backed The Voice referendum to change the country’s Constitution.

The message comes after the Penrith Panthers co-captain led his side to a 26—24 victory over the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL Grand Final on the weekend.

In a social media clip posted shortly after the Grand Final win, Cleary said:

“No Voice, no choice, come on Australia, vote Yes.”

In the social media post, Mr. Cleary is wearing a “We support the Uluru statement” t-shirt.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was quick to jump on the endorsement, posting a copy of the video to his social media post on Monday.

Mr. Albanese wrote, “It’s a Yes from Nathan Cleary.”

Early voting for The Voice referendum has commenced around the country this week.

Polling booths in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, and the Australia Capital Territory opened on Tuesday following the Monday public holiday.

Voting in Victoria, Tasmania, the Northern Territory, and Western Australia started a day earlier.

Match Winning Performance

Mr. Cleary won the Clive Churchill Medal for his performance in the NRL Grand final.

The Penrith Panthers had been trailing 8—24 an hour into the game before staging a remarkable comeback.

The Panthers halfback scored the match-winning try and conversion to win the medal for the second time.

“That’s the hardest game I’ve ever played,” Mr. Cleary said after the game.

“To our boys, it’s nothing but love. We worked so hard for this and we’re still just getting started.”

‘No’ Campaign Ramps Up

Meanwhile, prominent No campaigners Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Warren Mundine spoke at a campaign event at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre on Monday night.

Ms. Price, a senator for the Northern Territory Country Liberal Party, said her heart was “filled with so much hope” for Australia.

“This vote is ‘no’ to division but ‘yes’ to bringing back our beautiful Australian values,” she said.

“I am filled with so much hope, my heart is filled with so much love for this country, love for the Australian people, love for the fact that we are reigniting our Australian spirit.”

‘Yes’ Campaign Sign Controversy

Meanwhile, the Yes campaign has been pulled up by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) regarding the use of signage at polling booths.

The Yes campaign signs shared a very similar colour design and layout to the AEC’s own official signage.

In response, the AEC released a statement saying the sign had the potential to “mislead voters.”

“This combination of using purple and white colours in proximity to AEC signage could mislead a voter about the source of the signage, and by extension, the source of the message on the signage,” the AEC said.

“Accordingly, when we were alerted to this signage the AEC requested the Yes23 campaign to rectify the situation by ensuring their signs are not placed in the proximity of AEC voting centre signs. The Yes23 campaign has agreed to comply with this request.”

However, the AEC said it does not have the legal authority to prevent people from using particular colours.

But the Commission said it has been clear that its preference is that campaigners do not use purple and white in a way that could be misleading.