Waverley Council accused of ‘propaganda’ campaign on Voice to Parliament

A local government has been accused of bias and misuse of ratepayers’ money by holding an “information session” that only represents one side of the upcoming referendum.

Indigenous leader and “no” vote campaigner Warren Mundine has accused an eastern suburbs council of pushing “propaganda” with ratepayers’ money after it announced a forum on the Voice to Parliament referendum that only included “yes” speakers.

On Thursday Waverley Council, which takes in a number of posh beachside suburbs including Bronte, Tamarama, and Bondi as well as Dover Heights and Rose Bay, sent an email inviting residents to “take part in our Voice to Parliament Community Forum” on May 10.

However critics pointed out that the only names scheduled to speak were all prominent activists and campaigners in favour of the referendum.

Among the names featured were former Socceroo turned Australian Republican Movement chair Craig Foster, First Nations lawyers and campaigners Eddie Synot and Ruby Langton-Batty.

Mr Foster routinely takes to social media to promote the Voice and “placing First Nations at the centre of our national story,” while Mr Synot has worked with the team that designed the Uluru Statement from the Heart since 2018 and Ms Langton-Batty has publicly supported the Uluru Statement and the Voice on multiple occasions.

Former Socceroos star turned Voice campaigner Craig Foster. Picture Glenn Campbell

Indigenous leader Warren Mundine. Picture: Sarah Ison

Last October, Waverley Council also voted to implement a “community education strategy” to support the “yes” case and endorse the tag line “Waverley says Yes” in campaign materials.

Mr Mundine said it was not right that the Council only presented one side of the story, even if it had taken a position in favour of the Voice.

“It’s got to be a balanced presentation, otherwise it is just propaganda at ratepayers’ expense,” he said.

“It’s absolutely their right to have ‘yes’ campaigners but to do it all one way or the other is not a proper use of ratepayers’ funds.”

Waverley Council, which maintains some of the country’s most iconic and poshest beaches, has been accused of a “propaganda” campaign on the Voice. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

He added that the right approach was to follow the lead of a Melbourne football club which voted to support the Voice but also invited him to present the “no” case to players and staff.

Daniel Wild, deputy executive director of the Institute of Public Affairs, said “This is yet another example of how well-healed ‘yes’ campaign supporters are using public money to stack the deck in relation to the referendum by cancelling mainstream opinion and refusing to acknowledge both sides of the debate.”

“This sort of behaviour is exactly why Australians cannot have confidence that the debate on the Voice to Parliament referendum will be free and fair.”

However a spokesperson for Waverley Council justified the event by saying that it went along with councillors’ unanimous vote to support the referendum.

“The forum is for anyone who wants to learn more about the upcoming referendum and what it means for First Nations Peoples in this country. Whether people support the referendum is their personal choice,” they said.