Mainstream media helping to spread Voice 'No' campaign lies

Much of the Voice Referendum 'No' campaign is based on lies and misinformation, spread by a complicit mainstream media, writes Col Jennings.

IT HAS BEEN reported that Opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, a Warlpiri-Celtic woman, had earlier claimed the “elite proposal” would divide our country along the lines of race. Jacinta said: “It is that old rule of divide and conquer that I can't stand for.”

Also, leading ‘No’ campaigner Nyunggai Warren Mundine said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was responsible for creating division in Australia on a racial basis.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the Federal Government's proposed Voice to Parliament will “re-racialise our nation”:

“At a time when we need to unite the country, this Prime Minister's proposal will permanently divide us by race.”

'No' campaign built on lies and misinformation

The 'no' campaign is distorting the truth on the Voice to Parliament and operating in bad faith, writes Dr Victoria Fielding.

These we know are blatant lies, but we also know that if lies are repeated often enough in a biased media, they are sometimes believed. The almost identical wording is common when coming from the inner sanctum of the Liberal Party. How many social psychologists does it take to get a lie like this out to the public?

The other lie is that this is a Federal Government proposal. It is not. Over 80 per cent of First Nations people have been developing the Voice proposal for decades and they reached a consensus ten years ago. This is a First Nations Proposal through and through.

One of our leading First Nation spokesmen, Noel Pearson, says constitutional recognition of Australia's First Nations people is “not a project of identity politics” but one of “justice, unity and inclusion”.

Noel says:

‘It is whether the words speak to the country’s soul that will determine whether or not they will succeed in remaking the nation. These prayers give me hope this will be so.’

To believe that Liberals do not support the Voice is also misleading. Liberal voices for the ‘Yes’ campaign include former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Former Liberal Minister Ken Wyatt, NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman, Shadow Education Minister Matt Kean, Tasmania's Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockliff and MP Bridget Archer to mention a few.

How I decided to vote in the upcoming Voice Referendum

Before voting in the upcoming Referendum, it's vital to be educated on arguments from both sides to make an informed decision.

Prior to backflipping on his decision, Russell Broadbent, Liberal member for Monash in Victoria, perhaps gave us one of the strongest conservative voices to the ‘Yes’ cause.

He said:

The invitation is one that must not be ignored but embraced in its fullness. It is a line in the sand for which we should be grateful, very grateful indeed.

I believe it presents a defining moment in history for Australia. We walk together or we continue to stumble blindly, ignorant of the gift of a new way being offered. We fail to take up the offer at our peril.

Such grace and, dare I say compassion, is of another dimension and second peoples are blessed to having been asked to unite with the First Nations Peoples, the holders of the wisdom of this land, in order to move forward.

The argument fostered by Peter Dutton, Jacinta Price and Warren Mundine that the Voice Referendum will divide and re-racialise our nation will not hold up in the long run. Australians need to listen to the majority of First Nation People, not to the spurious media journalists and lies of the Liberal Party’s inner sanctum.