After months of intense campaigning by political legacy unions, the referendum is over, and the results are in.
Less than one third of Queenslanders supported the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
That’s right. Nearly 70% of voters across Queensland voted No.
Just three of the 30 federal electorates saw a Yes vote succeed – all inner-city Brisbane seats that are held by the Greens.
These resounding results are in stark opposition to the political agenda that unions like the Queensland Teachers Union (QTU) have pushed. Using their members’ money and resources, the QTU along with many other unions have sought to foist a political issue onto each and every one of their members.
Through funnelling their members’ money indiscriminately into the Yes campaign, they have essentially forced all of their members to fund one side of a political issue – the side that the overwhelming majority of them evidently weren’t on.
For years on end now, hardworking teachers across Queensland have been subjected to this blatant electioneering on various political issues, and the Voice to Parliament is one telling example.
Whilst the results in Queensland are more decisive than any other state in Australia, they should come as no surprise.
In all of the public opinion polling in the months leading up to the referendum, Queensland was consistently and overwhelmingly indicating they would be voting No for a range of different reasons.
Poll after poll showed that this was all tracking one way - it was clear that there wasn’t widespread support for the proposal across our state.
But that didn’t stop the Labor Party-aligned QTU from stepping up their political campaigning, knowingly putting themselves at odds with teachers across Queensland.
TPAQ State Secretary, Edward Schuller raised this issue in The Spectator last month, discussing how legacy unions have essentially stolen the voice of their members.
The results from the referendum should be a clear message to the QTU and other legacy unions alike – stop getting involved in political campaigns.
However, these lessons have been given before, and never learned.
But let’s put the actual result of the referendum to one side for a second. Even if it were completely flipped, and 70 percent of Queenslanders voted Yes, is it really the place of a union to be using their members’ hard-earned money to pick a side in a political debate?
Shouldn’t unions put their members first rather than dividing them by focussing on politics?
These are the questions more and more teachers across our state have been asking, and fortunately for teachers in Queensland, there is an alternative.
The TPAQ offers dedicated legal representation and workplace support, as well as enterprise bargaining and workplace conditions advocacy. Run by teachers, not career union officials, we are proud to provide protection without the politics.
All of this at about half the price of the QTU!
It’s pretty easy to keep membership fees low when you’re not funding political campaigns…
So if you’re fed up with the politics, high fees, and poor support from your union, give us a call! 1300 252 777