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Warren Mundine says voting against a voice to Parliament will make it easier for Indigenous people to secure treaties while backing a change to the date of Australia Day, two positions strikingly at odds with those of other prominent No campaigners.
High-profile opponents of constitutional change such as opposition Indigenous affairs spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price have argued that voters should reject a voice to parliament because the body would open the door to treaties and lobby to shift Australia Day away from January 26.
Warren Mundine said he disagreed with fellow No campaigners on treaties and the date of Australia Day.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Mundine did not fully endorse Price’s controversial view that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people do not suffer lasting negative impacts of British colonisation, but sought to downplay the issue by arguing that virtually every race and religious group had been colonised or invaded at some point in history.
After a torrid week of debate on the Voice, including an intense focus on comments by leading Yes advocate Marcia Langton about the role of racism in the No campaign, Mundine confirmed that he had sidelined some fellow No campaigners for racist remarks.
The former Labor Party national president declined to be drawn on growing speculation that he will fill former foreign minister Marise Payne’s vacant Senate seat, saying he had not discussed the issue with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.
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.
“As Jacinta, the senator, said: we have to have accountability.
“We are spending billions of dollars every year and according to Closing the Gap, we are still not going places so we have got to deal with that.”
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 previously expressed view that Australia Day should be moved from January 26.
“We’re going through this perennial, annual argument which is not helping us – we’re just arguing and arguing and arguing about this,” he said.
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 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”.
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.
A script used by volunteers for the group states: “I’ve also heard that some of the people who helped design the Voice proposal are campaigning to abolish Australia Day and want to use the Voice to push for compensation and reparations through a treaty.
Jacinta Price and husband Colin Lillie feature in a Fair Australia ad campaign.Credit:
“All of these things raised a few questions in my mind and made me wonder if there was more to it all than meets the eye”.
Commenting on the ongoing impact of colonisation on Indigenous people, Mundine said: “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 … 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 anymore.”
Mundine confirmed that he was referring to former Labor MP and prominent Voice opponent Gary Johns, who made several controversial remarks including claiming that blood tests should be taken to prove Aboriginality.
“We had a cup of tea and we talked about it,” Mundine said of Johns’ stepping back from the No campaign.
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