Fiery scenes as Yes supporters clash with attendees of Mundine, Price No campaign
Fiery scenes have erupted as Voice opponents clashed at a No campaign event, as a leading campaigner made a call for “quiet Australians” to stand up.
Protesters have clashed at a Voice campaign event in Brisbane headed by leading No campaigners Nyunggai Warren Mundine and Senator Jacinta Price, as they urged “quiet Australians” to stand up against the referendum.
Mr Mundine had earlier mocked the Yes vote at the packed speaking event, claiming they spoke like they had “been to Nimbin and had a few joints”.
Hundreds of No supporters packed the Royal International Convention Centre in Brisbane as Mr Mundine and Northern Territory Senator Price headlined the No campaign event, organised by the conservative lobby group Advance.
Things came to a head after the event as protesters and attendees screamed abuse at each other outside.
Yes supporters chanted “No pride, no pride, no pride in genocide” as people exited the building, with No supporters appearing to taunt them from a distance.
“How do you spell racist? LNP!” the protesters cried on occasion.
Security at the convention centre and police formed a barrier between the clashing groups.
No arrests were made.
A standing ovation greeted Mr Mundine and Senator Price as they took the stage on Wednesday night.
Mr Mundine opened the speech saying the Yes campaign focused on “victimhood, grievance and lies”.
“The first is that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have no voice,” he said.
“(But) when I go to Canberra, I’m tripping over blackfellas everywhere.”
He said the No campaign was aimed at making Australia the envy of the world.
“The Yes is about dividing us, you know? You’ve got to pick a team,” Mr Mundine said.
He jabbed Yes voters that they talked about “love” and spoke of it being “the vibe” – referencing an iconic line from The Castle.
“The Yes campaign … it’s the vibe. Everything’s love, they talk like they’ve been to Nimbin and had a few joints,” he said.
“They’re all slogans.
“We are about real solutions, accountability. All the billions of dollars that got spent, we want outcomes.
“We want people to make accountable for that.”
An advert played by Advance featured several Indigenous Australians, who were not named, speaking against the Voice to Parliament.
It included snippets of Senator Price and her husband Colin Lillie explaining how it would impact their family.
Mr Mundine said: “We’re gonna make these people get to school, get people into jobs, make their communities safe and those family and community values are back there.
“No more virtue-signalling, no more dividing us.
“We’re going to make all these people and politicians do their job and spend our money properly.”
Advance executive director Matthew Sheahan said polls still indicated that the No vote would succeed but warned the crowd: “Make no mistake, we can still lose this referendum.”
“We cannot allow that to happen, that’s why you’re here, to be the grassroots foundation of the campaign … to say ‘No, we will not be divided’.”
Senator Price told the cheering crowd the country should never have been subjected to “such a divisive referendum”.
“Our Prime Minister should never have put us on this path in the first place,” she said.
“For some time, we as a nation have come under attack from those who want to believe that we’re made up of two kinds of people, that we are either oppressed, or we oppressors.
“We’re told we’re a terrible, racist country... these are absolute lies.”
The crowd cheered as Senator Price said the referendum represented a “line in the sand” where people wouldn’t be subject to “gaslighting or manipulation”.
She echoed similar statements from former prime minister Scott Morrison on how they would no longer be “quiet Australians”.
“This is our turning point... no more do we stand by and (say) we are the quiet Australians,” Senator Price said.
“We’re going to be the noisy Australians, passionate Australians, the Australians that want what’s best for every single one of us.”
Wednesday’s event follows thousands of No supporters attending a similar convention with Mr Mundine and Senator Price in Adelaide, joined by SA senator Kerryn Liddle.
Ms Price has previously been critical of the growing “ugliness” of the campaign amid claims Yes supporters have hurled abuse at their opponents.
She has also claimed Indigenous Australians opposing the Voice, such as herself and Mr Mundine, have been subject to “gaslighting and bullying”.
“We are sick to death being told how racist we are, how horrible we are. Our own children are being taught not to be proud to call themselves Australians in this country,” she said last week.
Polls have indicated the Voice is headed to defeat at the October 14 referendum.
Support for the Voice has fallen to 36 per cent, while the No vote rose nationally to 56 per cent.
Earlier this month, a Redbridge poll revealed the Yes vote was sitting at only 35 per cent in Queensland.
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