Warning over Indigenous Voice debate turning racist

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has appealed enthusiastically to Australians to support the voice of Parliament. Photo: AAP

Australia’s Race Discrimination Commissioner, Chin Tan, has warned against creating a racist debate over the Indigenous voice in Parliament.

The call for civility came as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese received a standing ovation after delivering the Lowitja ODonoghue Oration in Adelaide on Monday evening.

Mr Albanese took aim at opponents of the Voice and reaffirmed his confidence in the success of the referendum.

But Mr Tan said it was important that the debate did not turn into a racial debate.

The Voice is not about race, it’s about participation, equity that elevates the standing of First Nations people, he told the ABC.

This is a journey that we have been on for a long time in this country, to find a way out and move forward to support our indigenous peoples.

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In his opening speech, Mr Albanese said the vote was not a rushed proposal and there were no shortcuts.

The reverse is the case. It is a grassroots movement, the culmination of years of discussion, consultation and hard, patient work by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people themselves, he said.

The Prime Minister has called out the prophets of doom who have promoted scare campaigns and so drastically underestimated Australians.

Australians will not succumb to their fear calls and ever more ridiculous invitations to jump over our own shadows, he said.

That’s because Australians have a healthy skepticism about doomsayers, a skepticism kept healthy by memories of all the predictions offered by the Chicken Littles of the past.

The latest polls show support for the vote has fallen to a slight majority, with no case on track to win if the trend doesn’t change.

The Voice legislation is expected to pass in the lower house this week, before heading to the Senate.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who last week described the voice as Orwellian, also called for respectful debate.

The Prime Minister [is] there people insulting people and others suggesting that people are racist because they don’t support the voice, that’s completely and utterly unacceptable, he told Victoria.

Indigenous leader and prominent no advocate Warren Mundine said the debate was starting to get really shameful.

This referendum is dividing Australia and you see it in the polls, and you see it in the community, he told the ABC.

But Mr Albanese said no supporter of the case was peddling a big lie that the proposed amendment would put race in the constitution.

He said opponents know full well that race has been enshrined in the constitution since the Federation.

These arguments are also infuriating because, unlike some existing provisions of the constitution, the vote amendment makes no reference to race, he said.

As the text of the amendment makes clear: Australians will be asked to recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the original peoples of Australia, not as a race.

Prominent yes campaigner Noel Pearson has warned that a rejection of the vote will end reconciliation in Australia.

The referendum is expected to take place between October and November this year.

Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe said the voice didn’t have enough power to be effective.

In 1967, over 90% of people voted yes in the referendum to include the First Nations mob in the constitution, but what difference did that actually make in the lives of the Blaks? she wrote on Twitter.

Nationals leader David Littleproud said his party had a culture of allowing dissenting opinions and respecting Liberal MPs who supported the voice.

-PAA

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