PRIEST Peter MacLeod-Miller says if you put up a poster supporting the 'no' case for the Voice referendum in Albury-Wodonga you would have your window broken.
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The Anglican minister made the claim during an address in Wodonga on Sunday July 30 by anti-Voice campaigner Warren Mundine.
"I'm just looking at that sign above you, (stating) 'it's OK to say no'," Father MacLeod-Miller said from his front row seat during question time at the event.
"I think if you lived in Albury-Wodonga, you wouldn't be able to put that up in your house without getting a rock through your window."
Father MacLeod-Miller lives at Adamshurst in Albury's David Street and noted at previous elections he has displayed posters for political candidates from across the spectrum from Greens to Liberals.
"I've put everyone's posters up on my fence in Albury," he said.
"(Now) I'd be able to put up 'yes' all over it and with perfect safety but I could not put up a sign, your sign on my fence, without having a rock through my window.
![Posters of different political candidates for the 2022 federal election adorn the fence of Adamshurst, the home of Father Peter MacLeod-Miller. Picture supplied. Posters of different political candidates for the 2022 federal election adorn the fence of Adamshurst, the home of Father Peter MacLeod-Miller. Picture supplied.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/xtb7LvhUpWdRyX3MGXCxS3/8648e18f-46c9-4645-9014-5b0a1ae079ee.jpg/r0_0_5760_3238_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"I notice that the Anglican cathedral in Melbourne has got a great big 'vote yes' sign on it, my own diocese, to my regret, they have said that we should be promoting the 'yes' vote which is I think a lack of understanding."
Father MacLeod-Miller asked Mr Mundine have community discussion of the issue be made safe, because it is "unsafe to have these conversations out in the public".
Mr Mundine responded by saying "it's a sorry situation in our liberal democracy where people are living in fear" about expressing opinions.
"We've had a number of people called racists and other derogatory terms because they were 'no' voters," Mr Mundine said.
![The sign unveiled on the side of St Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne at the weekend supporting the 'yes' campaign in the Voice referendum. Picture supplied The sign unveiled on the side of St Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne at the weekend supporting the 'yes' campaign in the Voice referendum. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/XJLgPnEdnKaFugZzKyL6Sw/724cf753-6cba-489c-a634-ac5476404631.jpg/r0_0_360_480_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
He said his message to those opposed to the Voice was that they do not to have disclose which way they are voting despite the urging of various organisations.
"It's a secret ballot, they can't follow you into the polling booth," Mr Mundine said.
"You can vote 'yes', you can vote 'no' and they don't have a clue if you did, so that's why Australia back in the 1900s invented, as they call it in America, the Australian vote which is the secret ballot."
On Monday, Father MacLeod-Miller, who attended last week's Voice forum with Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney and Indi MP Helen Haines, said it was disappointing to see little crossover with voters prepared to hear the alternative to their position.
"We've got two bubbles and they're singing in their own bathrooms," he said.
![The audience at Sunday's forum hosted by the National Civic Council and featuring anti-Voice campaigner Warren Mundine. Picture by Tara Trewhella The audience at Sunday's forum hosted by the National Civic Council and featuring anti-Voice campaigner Warren Mundine. Picture by Tara Trewhella](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/XJLgPnEdnKaFugZzKyL6Sw/28393db3-119f-41ba-8001-a1e4d0f5442b.jpg/r0_422_8256_5082_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Father MacLeod-Miller said he was "totally on the fence" on the Voice referendum but if he put a 'no' sign on his property then "my job would be at risk".
Event organiser and National Civic Council member Peter Murray said following donations after the free event "we will well and truly cover our costs".
That included venue expenses likely to be around $1500, but Mr Murray noted two security guards had been provided free by Wodonga Council.
He said 50 to 60 of the roughly 400-strong crowd had volunteered to be 'no' proponents at voting booths for the referendum.
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