‘All over the shop’: Yes campaign takes aim at No side division

Leading Yes advocates and senior Albanese government ministers have seized upon a split between the No campaign’s two most prominent figures over treaties and Australia Day as huge crowds mobilised for the biggest display of support yet for a constitutionally enshrined Voice to parliament.

Warren Mundine, who founded the Recognise a Better Way group opposing the Voice, on Sunday backed a change to the date of Australia Day and said that voting down the referendum would make it easier for Indigenous people to secure treaties.

Both positions were strikingly at odds with those of other high-profile No campaigners including opposition Indigenous affairs spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.

Warren Mundine said he disagreed with fellow No campaigners on treaties and the date of Australia Day.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Mundine also confirmed he had sidelined some fellow No campaigners, including former Labor MP Gary Johns, for making racially inflammatory comments.

After months of declining poll figures and a torrid past week in which Yes advocate Marcia Langton was criticised for comments about the role of racism in the No campaign, Voice supporters said they felt buoyed by division among their opponents and the huge rally turn-out.

Yes campaigners estimated that a total of 200,000 marched in rallies in the nation’s capital cities and regional centres across the country.

High-profile Yes advocate Noel Pearson responded to Mundine’s comments by saying: “It’s absolutely clear that the No campaign does not have a plan for the future; they’re all over the shop.

“There is no consistency between what their different spokespeople are saying.”

Pearson, who marched in a Yes rally in Newcastle on Sunday, said the mood was “ebullient”, adding: “I’m just astounded and happy that so many middle Australians came out with such a loud voice.”

Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney said that “Warren Mundine’s performance on Insiders shows the No campaign has no plan for the future” while Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said: “Clearly there is a split in the No campaign.”

Yes campaigner Marcus Stewart said: “The No campaign has spent the past six months trying to confuse the Australian people, and they’ve ended up confusing themselves.”

Sunday’s Walk for Yes rally lined the streets of Melbourne’s CBD while huge crowds braved heatwave temperatures at Redfern Park in Sydney for the city’s first big Yes event.

Voice architect Noel Pearson said the No side did not have a consistent message.Credit: Getty Images

Asked on the ABC’s Insiders whether Indigenous Australians were more likely to secure treaties if the Voice is rejected on October 14, Mundine replied: “Yeah, because on the 15th of October, if it is a No vote, that’s when the real work starts.”

Mundine said he supported treaties with local Aboriginal groups to protect Indigenous heritage and culture, but said he opposed any form of national treaty with First Nations people.

Asked whether treaties would be more likely to eventuate under a Yes or No vote, Mundine said: “I have serious problems if it is a Yes vote because these people are looking at putting on top of the First Nation native title and land rights stuff another body of bureaucracy.

“We don’t need another body of bureaucracy; we need to recognise the traditional owners.”

Describing himself as a proud “change-the-date person”, Mundine stood by his view that Australia Day should be moved from January 26.

Asked if there was a contradiction between his view and that of other No campaigners, he said: “That’s correct. I always stand strong on this. I know people on my side don’t agree with me on these two issues: treaties and the changing of the date.”

Price said last week that she fears treaty and reparations for Indigenous people would be the Voice’s two top priorities, adding that she opposed treaties because “you can’t have a treaty with your own citizens”.

She has also rejected the push to change Australia Day, saying that changing the date would not improve the lives of Aboriginal people and describing January 26 as a “magical day”.

A spokesman for Price declined to comment on Mundine’s remarks.

Jacinta Price and husband Colin Lillie feature in a Fair Australia ad campaign.Credit:

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age last week revealed that leading No activist group Advance was instructing campaigners to use doubts about a treaty to help sway undecided voters to vote against the Voice.

Mundine did not fully endorse Price’s controversial view that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had not been harmed by British colonisation, but sought to downplay the legacy of colonialisation.

“If you look at the history of humanity, just about every race, every religious group, every country in the world has been colonised, has been invaded,” he said.

“Even look at England, for instance, we call them Anglo-Saxons. Why do we call them Anglo-Saxons? Because there are two tribes who invaded and took over the country.

“The question isn’t about the ongoing trauma or neglect like that, but the question is how do we move forward?”

Asked whether he had kicked anyone off his campaign because of racist remarks, Mundine said: “Look, I’ve been very strong about these issues. People know that and you notice that people, some people, aren’t talking any more.”

Mundine confirmed that he was referring to former Labor MP and prominent Voice opponent Johns, who made several controversial remarks including claiming that blood tests should be taken to prove Aboriginality.

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