Tom Minear: Art of disagreement dying in Voice referendum debate

No matter what happens on Saturday, Australia will be divided on Sunday. Tom Minear says that is Anthony Albanese’s failure – but that we can’t see each other as enemies.

One of the most striking features of American politics is the dying art of disagreement.

This is as true in Washington DC – where Republicans last week sacked their leader because he negotiated with Democrats to keep the government open – as it is across the country. One in five Americans say politics has harmed their relationships; many more only associate with those they agree with.

It is a phenomenon pushing people to previously unthinkable extremes, from denying election results to defunding the police, and it’s pulling communities apart.

US President Joe Biden says Americans need to “stop seeing each other as enemies”. Picture: Jim Watson (AFP)

Watching the Voice campaign from afar, I fear Australia is heading down a similar path.

There are probably No voters who are racists and dickheads, just as there are Yes voters who are un-Australian separatists. But instead of knocking them down a peg, with common sense and a sense of humour, the campaign has been infected by these stereotypes.

The bitterness makes me wonder how we can disagree – because no matter what happens on Saturday, Australia will be divided on Sunday.

Anthony Albanese must shoulder much of the blame for this. He forced Australians to make a binary choice on a multi-layered question without trusting them with the detail to decide, and he expected consensus from voters without asking the same from Voice proponents.

Changing the constitution is hard, he says. So why not offer a more bipartisan design, or legislate the Voice first? Indigenous leaders would not have been pleased; they will be devastated if it is forever doomed by defeat.

Anthony Albanese campaigning for the Voice. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers (NCA NewsWire)

You can vote Yes and be unsure if the Voice will succeed, nervous about altering the constitution, confused by Albanese claiming it is both modest and transformational, and infuriated at the idea that it is worthwhile to make non-Indigenous Australians feel good.

You can vote No and be upset by the racism of others, dismayed by the misinformation being spread, frustrated by the hypocrisy of Peter Dutton promising to legislate a Voice, and worried if there is an alternative to close unforgivable gaps with Indigenous Australians.

Sadly, however, these nuances seem irrelevant to the loudest voices on both sides.

Whatever you think of US President Joe Biden, he had it right last week: “I know we have strong disagreements, but we need to stop seeing each other as enemies.”

If there is an upside, it is an agreement that Indigenous Australians deserve better from our governments. Whatever the result on Saturday, I truly hope that is not forgotten once again.

Originally published as Tom Minear: Art of disagreement dying in Voice referendum debate