It’s risky business for us all if Indigenous voice to parliament debate becomes squabbling

Prominent Yes campaigner Marcia Langton. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

This is a critical moment on the path to a momentous decision.

Australia could be about to have a proper talk about the best way to begin to fix the biggest social policy failure in our history. Or we could spend the next month squabbling over who among us is racist.

A month-long discussion about racism would be a disaster for the campaign for an Indigenous voice to parliament. Yes campaigners know this would play into the No campaign’s claims that the voice proposal is divisive. Yes23 is pressing on with an itinerary of Yes walks and concerts to demonstrate unity and hope.

As Indigenous leader Noel Pearson said at the Garma Festival in August, “we are going to love them on the beaches in this campaign”.

The Uluru Dialogue campaign continues to invite Australians to town hall meetings to hear about the voice and ask any question they want, including whether Indigenous people get free funerals or free cars.

If the debate descends into claims and counter claims of racism, there is a risk for the opposition and the rest of the No camp. Advance Australia wasted no time fashioning an advertisement from audio of Marcia Langton referring to the No campaign arguments as “base racism ... or sheer just stupidity”. Yet the No camp must realise there is a limit to how far they can go with this. If Australians begin to see a No campaign revelling in the mess, amplifying it and loving the nastiness of it all, they could be turned off in droves.

In the end we would all lose.

It is so important that on this topic, people are able to ask questions and express their views without fear of being called dumb or racist. We need to be aware that what whips around on social media may not have been subjected to much rigour. For example: yes, the National Indigenous Australians Agency is a well-funded government department. No, it is not the same as an advisory body. Does anyone think the RSL is superfluous because the Department of Veterans’ Affairs exists? Is the National Farmers Federation the same as the Department of Agriculture?

We need a mature discussion on the way forward. Both sides owe it to us to be clear on what they think matters most.