Linda Burney says Australians are hungry for truth on Voice to Parliament, decries post-truth 'no' campaign

The Minister for Indigenous Australians has used an emotional address to the National Press Club in Canberra to explain the Voice's genesis and functions, while giving details about her vision for its focus on key policy challenges of health, education, jobs and housing.

The speech is set against a backdrop of constant criticism from the federal opposition and the "no" campaign saying it is not clear how the Voice would work in practice. This has been reflected in the results of the ACM Voice Survey 2023, where a majority of the more than 10,000 respondents, at 72 per cent, felt the Albanese government had not done enough to explain the Voice.

The survey, conducted last month by ACM, the publisher of this newspaper, also found vote-smashing low levels of support for the Voice. The "yes" backing, several months out from a likely October vote, came in at 38 per cent compared to 55 per cent who opposed the proposition. 7 per cent said they were undecided.

READ MORE:

A successful referendum requires a double majority to change the constitution. That is if a majority of voters approve it nationally, as well as a majority of voters in at least four of the six states.

"There is much work to do in Aboriginal affairs. And I can only say to you that we are contemplating a successful referendum. The commitment to this referendum is full throttled," Ms Burney told the audience on Wednesday.

The ACM survey showed even more difficulty and doubt in rural and regional areas. There, the "no" vote grew to 57 per cent while the "yes" vote shrank to 35 per cent.

The ACT vote came in at 53 per cent in support of the Voice, while readers of the Daily Liberal in Dubbo returned a 21 per cent "yes" vote in the survey. The survey results were weighted against the national population and they follow a similar trajectory for Voice support seen in other published national polling.

The minister, a Wiradjuri woman, was asked about the survey at the National Press Club and reaching out to the regions about the Voice.

"I am glad that people want more information. That makes me extremely hopeful and it's also extremely appropriate," Ms Burney said.

"We are some way out from the referendum. But what I can tell you, I have not caught a plane in the last few months without one or two people giving me a bit of a squeeze or a bit of a smile and a wink. I have not been to a supermarket without people approaching me.

"The fact that the business community, the union movement, the sporting codes, the faith groups, the civil society are supporting this, I believe is the real measure of the level of support out there in the community and people do want to know what some of the information is."

The minister stated the Voice, as it advises on matters affecting the lives of First Nations people, was about two things; recognition and practical difference for "totally unacceptable" Indigenous outcomes.

"This country is hungry for the truth," she said.

She stressed the proposed advisory body was independent from government, hence the need to be constitutionally enshrined, but under pressure for detail she named four Voice priorities of health, education, jobs and housing.

"Bring me your ideas on how to stop our people from taking their own lives," Ms Burney offered. "Bring me your ideas on how to help our kids go to school and thrive. Bring me your ideas on how we make sure our mob live strong and healthy lives."

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton attacked the Voice proposal on Wednesday for being "badly designed", having too much influence and reminded it is unable to be changed once enshrined. He continued to criticise business groups for supporting the "yes" vote, describing them as "corporate elites" and "multimillionaires who are running huge publicly listed companies".

"I don't want to, every time I hand over my credit card or cash at Bunnings, or at Coles, I don't want part of that money going to an activist CEO," he said. "These CEOs who are closer to the union bosses than they are the workers, I think they've got a lot to answer for."

READ MORE:

But the minister ripped into the official "no" campaign, Mr Dutton and any other group campaigning against the referendum. She accused Mr Dutton of "bully-boy tactics" while criticising the Trump style politics of the "no" camp and lashing out One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.

"That [no] campaign is being run by a group called Fair Australia. It is importing Trump-style politics to Australia," she said.

"It is post-truth and its aim is to polarise. Its aim is to stir division in our society by making false claims including that providing advice to government will somehow impact the fundamental democratic principle of one vote, one value. A claim designed to mislead."

She accused Mr Dutton of trying to bully business groups who are supporting the Voice and she called out the One Nation leader for saying on radio that she had "met a true black". The minister was equally exasperated that it was said without any censure.

"To think that is unimaginably insulting and deserving of anything is really beyond the pale. Because what she was saying is that some indigenous people are less deserving of our identity," Ms Burney said.

"It was not called out by one media outfit. It was not written about by one media outfit. Do not let the "no" campaign get away with using Trump-style politics in Australia. Do not let them divide us."

Later asked about whether her stance will cause further division she said, "people need to understand that misinformation and disinformation is damaging and I do not apologise."