Personal conversations not party press conferences will guide regional Australians on an Indigenous voice

Australian history shows bipartisan support has been required on referendum, which need a majority of people in a majority of states. So the question this week was: if a rural based party like the Nationals opposes the voice, does it stand a chance?

Essential polling conducted for Guardian Australia in August suggested there was majority support for the concept among rural and regional voters. This view was backed by Noel Pearson, who told ABC radio the Nationals MPs had been most supportive of the idea of the voice.

It made three things clear in country Australia this week.

First, the decision has energised engaged sections of National party electorates, particularly those targeted by centre-right independent campaigns.

Those electorates include Calare, where Nationals MP Andrew Gee revealed he was still a supporter of the voice, and Nicholls in Victoria, where newly elected Nationals MP Sam Birrell reserved his position.

In nearby Euroa, resident Kate Auty said a loose coalition of local people had begun organising a series of education forums in the Strathbogies and surrounds to give people opportunities to talk about the voice and share any concerns.

Second, there are a lot of assumptions made about the voting habits of rural electorates, including that most rural and regional people did not support marriage equality.

However, Crooks says from her conversations, there are plenty of groups getting energised across the country on the voice.