Andrew Bolt: Anthony Albanese has tried to intimidate Australians into obeying our elites

Most Australians, including those who were previously for the Voice, distrust something pushed so hard by corporates and celebrities.

No, this column isn’t about the Voice. It’s instead about Australians being told to just listen to their betters.

Listen to your bosses, cried Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in an extraordinary outburst last week.

Listen even to people who’ve grabbed control of your sports organisations and now play politics without asking the opinions of the people they’re meant to serve.

So, no, this isn’t really about the Voice, a kind of Aboriginal-only advisory parliament Albanese wants put in our Constitution.

Anthony Albanese wants us to listen to people who’ve grabbed control of our sports organisations. Picture: David Swift

It’s about who should really run this country.

Last Thursday, Albanese, bizarrely for a Labor prime minister, again tried to intimidate Australians into obeying our elites.

He rattled through a long list of corporate supporters, including Big Sport: “Every single sporting code, AFL, National Rugby League, Football Australia, Cricket Australia, Tennis Australia, the Olympics committee, have all combined to say Yes.”

So had the big bosses, he insisted: “The Business Council of Australia, the Australian Industry Group, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, individual businesses all saying yes.

“Faith groups, the Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, Muslim groups, Hindu groups, Jewish organisations, all combining to say yes to the Voice.”

Albanese could have gone on and added the ABC, many universities, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, showbiz stars such as Cate Blanchett and professional organisations including the Australian Medical Association.

Cate Blanchett is among the celebrities endorsing the Voice. Picture: Getty

But rather than ram the elites’ opinions down our throats, Albanese should have asked himself an obvious question.

Why, when corporate Australia – Big Government, Big Unions, Big Business and even Big Academia – shouts Yes to the Voice, do polls show most Australians saying No?

Answer: Our elites don’t represent most Australians, or want to.

What’s more, most Australians, previously for the Voice, now distrust something pushed so hard by these corporates and celebrities.

In fact, many seem offended, even threatened, by the elites’ arrogance.

So this Voice referendum will now also be a vote on who really runs the country, and many Australians seem inclined to put our elites safely back in their boxes.