Key yes campaigner and architect of the Uluru statement from the heart, Prof Megan Davis, has accused the no campaign of relying on Trumpian disinformation, conceding it has made the job of persuading Australians more difficult.
During an event to launch a new television ad featuring John Farnham’s song, You’re the Voice, Davis also criticised some media outlets for highlighting disinformation being shared on social media platforms, particularly Facebook.
“Electoral experts and others had said to us they expected this avalanche of Trumpian misinformation to come with the 2022 election. It didn’t come then. It’s come for our referendum,” Davis said.
“We are now in that era. The Trumpian era has arrived on Australian shores.
“There’s a lot of misinformation and disinformation circulating, particularly on Facebook, but also through mainstream media as a consequence of that. And it makes our job harder.”
Davis’s comments echoed the Indigenous Australians minister’s stinging attack on opponents of the voice referendum in June. Linda Burney accused the no campaign of “importing American-style Trump politics” and seeking to divide Australians.
Last week, the Australian Electoral Commission came out swinging against critics who said counting ticks as a yes response in the upcoming referendum on the voice would undermine its fairness and impartiality. The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, claimed the rule showed the process was “rigged”.
“The Australian Electoral Commission completely and utterly rejects the suggestions by some that by transparently following the established, public and known legislative requirements, we are undermining the impartiality and fairness of the referendum,” the commission said in a statement.
Davis said yes campaigners found many Australians were changing their minds about the referendum once they realised the information they were relying on was inaccurate.
“When they hear from First Nations people about why they want a voice, and the process that led to the voice, then a lot of that misinformation falls away,” Davis said.
“All we can do is get out there and talk neighbour by neighbour, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, netball club by netball club, soccer club by soccer club. It’s just going to be mob yarning with Aussies, and that’s the only way we can get our information out there.”
What has happened already?
The Albanese government has put forward the referendum question: "A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?"
The PM also suggested three sentences be added to the constitution:
- There shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.
- The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples;
- The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to matters relating to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, including its composition, functions, powers and procedures.
How would it work?
The voice would be able to make recommendations to the Australian parliament and government on matters relating to the social, spiritual and economic wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The voice would be able to table formal advice in parliament and a parliamentary committee would consider that advice. But the voice co-design report said all elements would be non-justiciable, meaning there could not be a court challenge and no law could be invalidated based on this consultation.
How would it be structured?
The co-design report recommended the national voice have 24 members, encompassing two from each state, the Northern Territory, ACT and Torres Strait. A further five members would represent remote areas and an additional member would represent Torres Strait Islanders living on the mainland.
Members would serve four-year terms, with half the membership determined every two years.
Davis also referenced a Guardian Australia investigation that found lobby groups campaigning to sink the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum have deep links to a number of conservative Christian organisations and consultancies.
The investigation found the no campaign was working with companies that appear to specialise in conservative Christian campaigning, including a US-headquartered marketing and fundraising firm that aims to help Christian nonprofit ministries “fulfil their mission”.
“It’s a real problem. It’s been disappointing. The Guardian and others have run stories about American companies, registered in the south, who are ploughing money [into Australia] and Trumpian techniques,” Davis said.
“The AEC is obviously deeply concerned about the Trumpian arguments that the polling is rigged.”
In April, the AEC launched a public education campaign to improve knowledge of the constitution and the referendum process, while combatting misinformation about the voice to parliament.
Its register of disinformation includes claims the AEC is campaigning for a yes or no vote, that voting is voluntary, that the process is rigged, and that the constitution has been invalid since 1973.
