When Australians were called on to vote in a new leader at the federal election earlier this year, there was one expansive pocket of Australia where the masses did not assemble.
In the largest electorate of the Northern Territory – encompassing some of the most disadvantaged parts of the country – almost 35 per cent of people didn't vote.
It was the lowest voter turnout in the seat of Lingiari's history, and part of a worrying trend, according to the Australian Electoral Commission.
"There's been a continued decline regrettably in the Northern Territory for both federal elections, territory elections and local government elections," deputy electoral commissioner Jeff Pope said.
Almost immediately, the newly-elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese labelled it an "outrage" and blamed it on cuts to electoral commission resources under the former Coalition government.
Three months on, in a historic first, representatives from the AEC late last week travelled thousands of kilometres to meet with the NT's four powerful land councils to appeal for help.
Deep in the isolated outback, under a makeshift canopy to block out the beating sun, the meeting was also a chance to hear from constituents about why some voters in the bush have deserted democracy.
"I heard today as many as 25,000 Territorians are not enrolled to vote," Tiwi Land Council Chairman, Gibson Farmer-Illortaminni told the meeting.
He was joined by executives from the Central Land Council, Anindilyakwa and Northern Land Council at a rare gathering to mark the 56th anniversary of the Wave Hill walk off on Gurindji Country, almost 800 kilometres from Darwin.
It was the first time in years the four land councils had met, and was a chance to discuss voter turnout, as well as the voice to parliament and remote housing.
"We need to do better; this is about getting our young men and women involved and educating our people about having a say in elections for the Territory and Commonwealth governments," he said.
"Things are not much better for older people, the system often fails them too."
Many factors impact voter turnout
Confusion over complex ballot papers, and a lack of accessibility for people with disabilities or limited transport options have kept voter turnout low, the AEC heard at the meeting.
A void of politicians making themselves known on the ground, and not nearly enough education in the school system, was also driving apathy, meeting members said.
"[Politicians] don't come out prior to the election ... that's what I saw in my community. Who are the candidates and what are they going to promise?" Mayor of Victoria Daly Regional Council, Brian Pedwell told the ABC after the meeting.
"They have a hit list of promises, but they don't deliver."
Large elections provide a challenging case for the AEC, especially in the Northern Territory where remote polling teams are tasked with collecting ballots from about 170 communities in the most isolated parts of Australia.
Lingiari is a seat with a landmass double the size of Texas, taking in roughly 99 per cent of the Northern Territory and all the jurisdiction's remote Indigenous communities.
In boats, planes, helicopters and 4WDs, remote polling teams trek thousands of kilometres to reach voters every year – yet turnout has continued to drop from 72.85 per cent in 2019, 73.70 per cent in 2016 and 75.42 per cent three years earlier.
New statistics show enrolments up
The AEC's latest statistics on Indigenous enrolment rates, released on Thursday, show a jump in the NT from 69.6 per cent 12 months ago to 74.1 per cent.
The national enrolment rate increased from 79.3 per cent last year to 81.7 per cent in 2022.
Mr Pope said it was a "really solid increase" which he attributed to new partnerships with 82 Indigenous organisations, 20 of which are in the NT.
"That's an extra 4,144 people who were eligible [to vote]," he said.
"We're really pleased with the progress that we're making. We're absolutely committed to keeping this as an organisational priority," he said.
But federal member for Lingiari Marion Scrymgour, who also attended the meeting with Special Envoy for the Voice to Parliament, Labor Senator Pat Dodson, said enrolment rates were in more dire straits.
"Evidence showed us there's around 20,000 young people that aren't on the roll, or older people who have been taken off the roll," she said.
Ms Scrymgour said a referendum on a constitutional change that would set in stone an Aboriginal voice to parliament would be futile while the NT continued to have one of the lowest voter participation rates and enrolment rates in the country.
"There's no point in going to a referendum if we've got 20,000 people in the NT not on the electoral roll," she said.
"Aboriginal people need to be engaged in that process."
Uluru Statement from the Heart advocate and maritime union member, Thomas Mayor, said there needed to be a "great increase" in resources, not only to get people enrolled but also to ensure they made it to a ballot box on election day.
"I've seen firsthand just how few of our people make it to the ballot box, or they get turned away at the ballot box because they are not enrolled," he said.
"There needs to be a major change there and it's great to see that that is happening."
Joining forces to solve the problem
Chairman of the Central Land Council, Robert Hoosan said he hoped the land councils would form an official partnership with the AEC in the future.
"We need our voices, and in the future … it would be good if we can work together," he said.
The AEC has the same hopes.
"We haven't entered into any formal agreements with [the land councils] yet," Mr Pope said.
"Hopefully, we were getting close to formalising arrangements with them.
"Our strategy, particularly over the last 18 months to two years has really been engaging with Indigenous partner organisations who are already in the community.
"They're a key stakeholder in the Northern Territory, they have great reach, great credibility, and they also have some really good data that we'd be looking to try and work with [to try] to help solve this problem."
