Opinion: The simple truth that swayed a sceptic to vote for the Voice

Fearmongering is discouraging people from voting for a Voice to Parliament, but the reality is much less menacing, writes Thomas Mayo.

• When: PM to announce date

At a town hall event in regional Queensland recently, I met a farmer, David, who owns a cattle station outside Gladstone. He was leaning towards voting no when he walked in the door.

He had heard through social media that the Voice would be able to take his farm.

His fears were allayed by simply showing him the wording that will be added to the Constitution should the referendum succeed.

On reflection, he said the no campaign was treating Australians like mugs.

“‘If you don’t know, vote no’, is the campaign’s slogan and it is written on their no case pamphlet,” he said.

“Sounds to me like they are taking us for idiots.”

The yes campaign must reach a lot of people like David in the weeks ahead. I am optimistic we can.

We now have over 25,000 volunteers and hundreds more are joining every day. For many people who are undecided or even leaning towards no because of something they’ve heard on the internet, a simple conversation aided by the actual words of the proposed amendment will provide a lot of reassurance that recognition through a Voice will be a positive.

I have often said during this campaign that truth is on the side of yes. It doesn’t need to be about truth in the sense of a fundamental underlying wisdom – although I believe that kind of truth is on our side too. It can just be truth in the sense of indisputable facts.

Whatever your opinion of the various people involved on both sides of the debate, including me, Australians are being asked to vote on a very simple change to the Constitution.

We seek a Voice – a say in things that affect us – not because we are a different race, but because of 60,000 years of continuous connection to and love for this country, and the woeful gaps between us and other Australians in health, education and employment that no government has been able to close.

Many of the claims opponents make about the Voice go to water at first contact with common sense. Take former prime minister Tony Abbott’s claim that the National Indigenous Australians Agency distributes some $30 billion to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Put aside that the agency’s budget is well short of that at $4.5 billion. Isn’t $30 billion an awful lot of money for 800,000 people?

And ask yourself: If there is that much money spent on so few people, why would they choose to live in poverty?

You don’t need to be an expert in fiscal governance to see that taxpayer dollars are not reaching the people who need it. It is not logical to believe that Indigenous Australians prefer this waste and these poor outcomes for our children.

We can’t keep trying this broken approach that keeps all the power in the hands of the political class – the very people who have tried but failed. Politicians of all persuasions have admitted to this. Are we going to pass up the opportunity to help them do better?

If the referendum passes, Indigenous people will never gain any power to instruct any person to do a single thing, ever. There are no special rights being granted to anyone.

The amendment simply says that Voice can exist and make its views known, and it will be subservient to the Parliament. It’s a standing committee to provide advice on Indigenous affairs.

That’s it.

But in a democracy that has not sufficiently heard Indigenous Australians, a Voice will help us build a stronger, more reconciled nation.

Thomas Mayo is a spokesperson for Yes23