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Celebrities are indulging in the Yes camp’s favourite tactic of emotional blackmail, claiming the world would look down on us if we vote No

It’s clear many of the celebrities advocating for the race-based referendum are ignorant of the details and they’re not helping their cause by calling No voters “dinosaurs and dickheads”.

'People don’t want that’: Yes Campaign selling ‘racial division’ and ‘racial privilege’

The celebrity class’ enthusiastic backing of the Voice is likely to do their cause more harm than good.

Australians typically baulk at lectures from actors, musicians and athletes about matters of national importance, let alone a referendum seeking to change our nation’s founding document.

From ex-footballer Nathan Buckley to alleged comic Magda Szubanski to veteran TV presenter Ray Martin, the support from celebrities is often intellectually vacuous and ill-advised.

It’s clear that many of the celebs advocating for the race-based referendum are ignorant of the details of the proposal; far worse is the counterproductive manner in which some have expressed their support.

Veteran TV journalist Ray Martin is one of the celebs offering intellectually vacuous support for the Voice. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers
Veteran TV journalist Ray Martin is one of the celebs offering intellectually vacuous support for the Voice. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

Take former A Current Affair host Martin’s diatribe on his countrymen who are against entrenching racial privilege and division into the Constitution.

Speaking at an event attended by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week, Martin called No voters “dinosaurs and dickheads” and claimed the details of the proposed constitutional change “simply don’t matter”.

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

“At this stage of the game, the details simply don’t matter. They never did matter, honestly.”

Martin’s breathtaking arrogance was audacious enough but he was not done yet.

After showcasing his profound ignorance and insulting more than half the country, he then indulged in the Yes camp’s favourite tactic of emotional blackmail, claiming the world would look down upon a nation that did not back this far Left agenda.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Ray Martin at the Yes campaign event. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Ray Martin at the Yes campaign event. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

“If we wake up on … October 15 and Australia has voted No, what will the New York Times and The Times of London and the best media in Europe and Asia and South America, what will the world say about us,” Martin asked.

“Ladies and gentlemen, as a proud Australian, that doesn’t bear thinking about it, does it? The way that the world sees us really does matter.”

Actually, it doesn’t.

What the thoroughly broken and race-obsessed miscreants at the NY Times or at European publications who still haven’t understood the Brexit phenomenon think of Australia matters about as much as Ray’s famously immovable bouffant.

What does matter is that Albanese called Martin’s speech “powerful”.

Here we have the PM applauding a celebrity who is abusing millions of Australians for not backing an ill-considered, poorly argued policy.

On Thursday we had Labor minister Tanya Plibersek praising former footballer Adam Goodes’ backing of the Voice.

Adam Goodes has been praised for backing the Yes campaign. Picture: Gaye Gerard
Adam Goodes has been praised for backing the Yes campaign. Picture: Gaye Gerard

The same Goodes who after being named Australian of the Year in 2014 told Australians to “remember whose lands you are on” and smeared footy fans as racists for booing him, and who in August argued for the Yes camp by falsely claiming his “mother was part of the flora and fauna act when she was born”.

That prompted the ABC to issue a correction after airing Goodes’ falsehood.

“Indigenous people in Australia have never been covered by a flora and fauna act,” the ABC clarified.

On Wednesday Minister Linda Burney was trumpeting another celebrity endorsement, this time a daft video featuring “rapper” Adam Briggs and Nathan Buckley who backs the referendum despite admitting in the 86-second clip that he doesn’t know how it will work.

“I don’t know how the parliament will operate, I don’t know how the Voice will go about its business but I trust that we are gonna keep moving towards giving the First Nations people more of a voice,” Buckley said.

Well, that’s convincing, isn’t it? Sure, I was hesitant about enshrining toxic racial politics in the Constitution and further empowering the activist class who have caused so much damage, but with that endorsement I’m on board!

As for Briggs, he regularly indulges in simplistic race-baiting on social media, claiming the No campaign is racist, the referendum is just about recognition and complained about “dumb dogs who want to know the details”.

But perhaps the most counterproductive support for the Yes side in the past week came via the Nine papers promoting the views of activist Tarneen Onus Browne, who was once a No vote but has switched to Yes in recent months.

This would be the same activist who has said during a protest on Australia Day: “F--k Australia, I hope it burns to the ground.”

Don’t know about you, but personally I prefer to ignore the opinions of those who hate this country and want to watch it burn.

Rita Panahi
Rita PanahiColumnist and Sky News host

Rita is a senior columnist at Herald Sun, and Sky News Australia anchor of The Rita Panahi Show and co-anchor of top-rating Sunday morning discussion program Outsiders.Born in America, Rita spent much of her childhood in Iran before her family moved to Australia as refugees. She holds a Master of Business, with a career spanning more than two decades, first within the banking sector and the past ten years as a journalist and columnist.

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/rita-panahi/celebrities-are-indulging-in-the-yes-camps-favourite-tactic-of-emotional-blackmail-claiming-the-world-would-look-down-on-us-if-we-vote-no/news-story/05d8e46f546961841a6fb8c9ec1fdaac