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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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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Warren Mundine said he disagreed with fellow No campaigners on treaties and the date of Australia Day.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Alex Ellinghausen<\/cite><\/p>\n Mundine did not fully endorse Price\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The former Labor Party national president declined to be drawn on growing speculation that he will fill former foreign minister Marise Payne\u2019s vacant Senate seat, saying he had not discussed the issue with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.<\/p>\n Asked on the ABC\u2019s Insiders <\/em>whether Indigenous Australians were more likely to secure treaties if the Voice is rejected on October 14, Mundine replied: \u201cYeah, because on the 15th of October, if it is a No vote, that\u2019s when the real work starts.<\/p>\n \u201cAs Jacinta, the senator, said: we have to have accountability.<\/p>\n \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Asked whether treaties would be more likely to eventuate under a Yes or No vote, Mundine said: \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t need another body of bureaucracy; we need to recognise the traditional owners.\u201d<\/p>\n Describing himself as a proud \u201cchange-the-date person\u201d, Mundine stood by his previously expressed view that Australia Day should be moved from January 26.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going through this perennial, annual argument which is not helping us \u2013 we\u2019re just arguing and arguing and arguing about this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Asked if there was a contradiction between his view and that of other No campaigners, he said: \u201cThat\u2019s correct. I always stand strong on this. I know people on my side don\u2019t agree with me on these two issues: treaties and the changing of the date.\u201d<\/p>\n Price said last week that she fears treaty and reparations for Indigenous people would be the Voice\u2019s two top priorities, adding that she opposed treaties because \u201cyou can\u2019t have treaty with your own citizens\u201d.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cmagical day\u201d.<\/p>\n The Sydney Morning Herald<\/em> and The Age<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n A script used by volunteers for the group states: \u201cI\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n Jacinta Price and husband\u00a0Colin Lillie feature in a Fair Australia ad campaign.<\/span>Credit: <\/span> <\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cAll 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\u201d.<\/p>\n Commenting on the ongoing impact of colonisation on Indigenous people, Mundine said: \u201cIf 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWe call them Anglo-Saxons. Why do we call them Anglo-Saxons? Because there are two tribes who invaded and took over the country.<\/p>\n \u201cThe question isn\u2019t about the ongoing trauma or neglect like that, but the question is how do we move forward?\u201d<\/p>\n Asked whether he had kicked anyone off his campaign because of racist remarks, Mundine said: \u201cLook, I\u2019ve been very strong about these issues. People know that and you notice that people, some people, aren\u2019t talking anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a cup of tea and we talked about it,\u201d Mundine said of Johns\u2019 stepping back from the No campaign.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n