Ray Martin stands by ‘dinosaurs and dickheads’ comment that lashed No campaign

Veteran journalist Ray Martin says he’d repeat his inflammatory remark about the No campaign and told A Current Affair he was a ‘trusted voice’ and will be voting Yes.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shakes hands with Ray Martin at The West Says Yes event, Marrickville. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers

Veteran journalist Ray Martin has stood by his scathing comments attacking the No campaign after he accused its key slogan of being “nonsensical” and likened it to being a “dinosaur or a dickhead who can’t be bothered reading” the referendum proposal.

When Martin attended a Yes campaign event alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Marrickville in his Sydney electorate on September 28 the former journalist took to the stage to give an address that heavily criticised the No campaign.

During Martin’s speech he told the audience, “If you don’t know, vote No. What a stupid nonsensical slogan that is.

“If you don’t know, find out what you don’t know.

“What that asinine slogan is saying is if you’re a dinosaur or a dickhead who can’t be bothered reading, then vote No.”

The five-time gold Logie winner was interviewed on Channel 9’s A Current Affair program by host Ally Langdon on Thursday night and during the interview she asked if he regretted the comments.

“No, I don’t,” Martin said.

“I think this is a really important referendum and I would never call No voters dinosaurs or anything else.”

Langdon refuted these claims and said, “But you did call them dinosaurs and another word.”

Martin repeatedly rejected Langdon’s comments.

“No I didn’t. What I said I found offensive was this slogan, this stupid slogan, if you don’t know, vote No.

“That’s just an endorsement of ignorance, if you don’t know find out what you don’t know.”

Martin, 78, said there is “no hidden message in this referendum” and it was “pretty simple.”

He encouraged Australians to vote Yes on October 14, which he said he would be doing himself.

During the TV interview, Langdon told Martin “language is important” and the words he used during this speech were “inflammatory.”

Martin, who hosted many TV programs during his career including A Current Affair until 2005, rejected these claims and said, “I don’t think it is, I would stick by the language.”

“I would say it again,” he said.

“It’s part of the Aussie vernacular by the way, I hear it all the time on morning radio, it’s not like I suddenly stuck out there and said something.

“I think both sides have made it particularly political, especially the No vote.

“To me it’s like women’s rights, or about gay rights, this is Aboriginal rights, it’s the decent thing to do, it’s not about politics.”

Martin spoke about his career in journalism for almost 60 years and said he was a trusted voice within the Australian public.

“I think people trust me,” he said.

“I have got reason to be trusted, I think this is really important, I don’t think we should be scared by the scare campaign.

“I don’t have a reputation for telling people how to suck eggs at all so in this case I’m simply saying if you going to vote don’t say ‘I don’t know that I’m going to vote’ No, go and find out then you can vote No.”

He also said Australians could not criticise the Chinese if Australians vote No at the referendum.

“We can’t point the finger at the Chinese about the treatment of their minorities if we vote No on the 14th, we have to stand up and be counted,” Martin said.

Ask by Langdon if his comments were similar to Hillary Clinton’s moment when she labelled Trump supporters a ‘basket of deplorables’, Martin said he was unsure.

“It could, but I am not part of the Yes campaign team,” he said.

“I am expressing my opinion. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was among those to criticise Martin’s comments this week.

“People aren’t stupid, they aren’t dinosaurs,” he said during an interview with 2GB host Ray Hadley.

“So, the Prime Minister applauded Ray Martin for that reference to Australians, to millions of Australians.

“Then on ABC Radio the next day, the Prime Minister says Ray Martin gave a great speech last night in my electorate.

“So, the hypocrisy, I don’t think, knows any limits and I think it’s why even a lot of Labor people you speak to now in private are shaking their head at what on earth the Prime Minister’s doing.”

Originally published as Ray Martin stands by ‘dinosaurs and dickheads’ comment that lashed No campaign