No campaigner Warren Mundine says local bodies should be prioritised over an Indigenous voice to parliament

The No campaigner ignites a fire over his ‘symbolic declaration of war against modern Australia’ remarks, insisting traditional owners don’t want to be told what to do by a voice.

Warren Mundine says local voices should be prioritised to hold Indigenous organisations and spending to account regardless of the referendum result on October 14, as he escalates his attack against the voice as a “centralised overlord” that will take power from traditional owners.

The leading No campaigner, who last week ruled out running for the NSW Liberal Senate vacancy left by Marise Payne in the wake of declaring his support for treaties and changing Australia Day, ignited a backlash from the Yes camp on Tuesday after declaring the Uluru Statement from the Heart was a “symbolic declaration of war against modern Australia”.

He also said aggrieved Aboriginal people needed to forgive Australia and not be captive to the past, as he refused to condemn comments made by self-described “corporate comedian” Rodney Marks at the Conservative Political Action Conference he chairs that traditional owners were “violent black men”.

“I don’t think all of these supporters (of the voice) have grasped the path this referendum is taking us down,” Mr Mundine told the National Press Club less than three weeks out from polling day.

“I believe they don’t see the threat that the voice poses to Aboriginal traditional owners and to the character of Australia itself. The voice is a political ploy to grab power – not just from the Australian nation but also from traditional owners.

“We believe traditional owners should be able to speak for themselves about how they want to live their lives on their own countries. Not told what to do or what to think by some centralised overlord, be it the Central Land Council or the voice or a Makarrata commission.”

Leading Yes campaigner Noel Pearson will on Wednesday tell the National Press a successful referendum would “seize our first best chance and last best hope for a lasting settlement”.

“Australia will start a new chapter and the nations of the earth will learn that, with justice, what remains wrong can be put right, and when people face the truth they can open their hearts and it is never too late for reconciliation,” Mr Pearson will say, according to excerpts of his speech.

“This referendum is testing the idea that a nation conceived in the fiction of terra nullius – a continent empty of owners – can come to a new understanding of who we are: a nation blessed with an Indigenous heritage spanning 60 millenia, a British democracy captured in its Constitution and a multicultural unity that is a beacon to the world.”

Speaking to The Australian after his speech on Tuesday, which was attended by former prime minister Tony Abbott and several Coalition MPs, Mr Mundine endorsed local representative bodies to improve the lives of Indigenous people.

Tony Abbott and Warren Mundine at the National Press Club. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ David Beach

Anthony Albanese has ruled out legislating a voice to parliament if the referendum is defeated, while Peter Dutton says a Coalition government would prioritise legislating local and regional bodies and holding a second referendum solely on constitutional recognition.

“I do believe in local representative bodies. We need to get things going on the ground, working properly and operating and governance is a big issue,” Mr Mundine said.

“That’s one of the things we have to look at it in regard to when we talk about accountability. It’s not about blaming people, it’s about how can we do better. It has to be through local (bodies).”

Megan Davis, Uluru Dialogue co-chairwoman and architect of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, said it was repugnant to associate the statement with a declaration of war on Australia.

“What our people wanted was peace, a coming together of the nation, and that is what the Uluru statement is, and it’s very disappointing that it’s being regarded as some sort of aggressive and angry display or declaration of war upon modern Australia,” she told ABC TV.

Professor Davis lashed Mr Mundine’s speech as “baseline Trumpian misinformation”.