Kerry O’Brien speaks at Hervey Bay on Voice to Parliament
Renowned journalist Kerry O’Brien spoke about the Voice to Parliament in Hervey Bay at the weekend in a roadshow that is crossing Qld, answering multiple queries, including one shouted claim that Australia was heading to an ‘apartheid’.
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Renowned Australian journalist Kerry O’Brien was the one facing the questions at a forum in Hervey Bay on Sunday regarding the indigenous Voice to Parliament.
In front of a crowd of about 100 at Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre, Mr O’Brien, Yes advocate Jade Appo-Ritchie and author Thomas Mayo discussed the Voice to Parliament, clearing up misconceptions and sharing information ahead of the upcoming referendum.
Mr O’Brien and Mr Mayo co-authored a book together titled The Voice to Parliament, which had sold tens of thousands of copies since going into print.
The former Four Corners presenter said he felt people wanted to vote yes, they just needed to be given the correct information regarding the referendum and what it was about.
He said the opportunity to recognise indigenous Australians’ 65,000 years of “rich civilisation” and provide them with a voice was being corrupted and distorted by “no” campaigners.
Mr O’Brien said he was thrilled with the turnout in Hervey Bay, which was just one of their stops across Queensland.
“I’m a Queenslander who lives out of Queensland and I am sick to death of hearing how Queensland is a racist state,” he said.
“You don’t have to scratch too deep anywhere in this country to find the racism that we all know does exist.
“I think the majority of Australians are certainly well intentioned and I think the majority of Australians want to vote yes; they want the leadership to take them there, they want to know the answers.”
He urged those in the crowd to reach out to friends and family who wanted more information and share the details to help their understanding of what voting yes would mean.
Mr Mayo said the vote was about recognising the existence of indigenous people in Australia in a way that gave them a say about decisions that affect them.
He said to finetune it even more, it was about agreeing that there should be fairness in this country.
Mr Mayo said he understood there were questions and people wanted to understand how it would work.
“The Voice won’t have a right to veto. There’s nothing in there about a veto, or a third chamber or the ability to steal your backyards or force the government into anything or hold up the decisions of government, that’s all rubbish,” he said.
A question-and-answer session followed the presentation by the three speakers.
One man said he was wary of voting yes without seeing “the fine print”.
He claimed he had lived under apartheid and he knew what it was like.
“Unless you live in a country like that, you’ve got no idea and I believe you are heading to an apartheid country,” he said.
Mr O’Brien said the public was voting on a principle and what form the Voice would take would be in the hands of the democratically elected parliament.
“That is the parliament’s job to work out what final shape the institution of the Voice should take.”
Further events will be held in the lead-up to the referendum.
To find out more, visit the Hervey Bay/Maryborough for Yes Facebook page.
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