Prominent Voice Campaigner Says ‘Racism’ Comment Misconstrued by Media

Professor Marcia Langton AO poses for photos during the Garma Festival at Gulkula in East Arnhem, Australia, on July 29, 2022. (Tamati Smith/Getty Images)

Prominent Voice campaigner for the Yes vote, Marcia Langton, has explained that her comments about the No case being based on racism and stupidity were directed at arguments in the campaign and not at the voters.

Ms. Langton told a forum at Bunbury, Western Australia, on Sept. 10 that every argument raised by the No campaign was “substantially false.”

“Every time the No cases raise their arguments, if you start pulling it apart you get down to base racism, I’m sorry to say that’s where it lands—or sheer stupidity,” she told the audience, the Bunbury Herald reported.

Her comments were made in response to questions about whether Aboriginal Australians would receive compensation if the referendum succeeded.

She added that the question put forward in the referendum has been described by former judges as “safe, sound, robust, and also practical.”

“The old judges are telling you this, but [Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Senator Jacinta Price] says otherwise,” Ms. Langton said.

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“It’s up to you as to whom you take your advice from.”

The issue was brought up in Parliament after media headlines said she had branded No voters as “racist and stupid.”

Deputy Leader of the Opposition Sussan Ley asked the Minister of Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney if she would condemn Ms. Langton for accusing No voters of opposing the referendum because of racism and stupidity.

“I call on everyone involved in this referendum to act respectfully and with care for their fellow Australians. We are a great country. We are enhanced by listening to a diversity of views and opinions, and, fundamentally, The Voice is all about the act of listening,” Ms. Burney replied.

“Of course, there is no room for racism of any kind in this country.”

On Oct. 14, Australians will go to the polls to decide on whether to change the Constitution to include recognition of Indigenous people in its preamble and to set up a near-permanent advisory body to the legislature and executive to “make representations” on issues related to Indigenous people.

‘Deplorables Moment’: Ley

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton also brought the issue up in Parliament, criticising Ms. Burney and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for not condemning Ms. Langton’s comments.

“[Ms. Langton], the principal adviser to the prime minister of this country goes out suggesting that millions of Australians, including one in three Labor voters who are going to vote no or are indicating they are voting no on 14 October, are ‘racist or just stupid,’” he told Parliament.

“The prime minister doesn’t condemn those comments. He doesn’t table the article. I have never seen anything like it.”

Ms. Ley added that Ms. Langton’s labelling of the No advocates as racist or stupid was a “deplorables moment” and a “window into the psyche” of the Yes campaign.

“They refuse to accept that everyday Australians do not like what they see when it comes to the Voice,” she said.

“This is the ‘yes’ campaign’s deplorables moment, and it’s really disappointing. We want a fair and honest debate. We don’t want personal sledges.”

In response, Mr. Albanese referred to other media reports that said volunteers for the No campaign were instructed not to identify themselves as No campaigners upfront in a briefing. The Age reported that volunteers were told to raise reports of financial compensation should the referendum succeed.

This is in reference to concerns from the No campaign after a Freedom of Information document revealed strong support by The Voice architects for reparations through a fixed percentage of GDP, land tax, or royalties under a Treaty.

Mr. Albanese said the report revealed the “dishonest and divisive” strategy of the No campaign.

“The fact is that the speech from the Leader of the Opposition followed those instructions to the letter. It’s disappointing but in no way surprising because, when it comes to dishonesty and division, when it comes to fear campaigns and falsehoods, this bloke wrote the book,” he told the Parliament.

A spokesman for the No campaign, led by Fair Australia, said all volunteer callers were asked to identify themselves as calling from the organisation and that “any suggestion to the contrary is a flat-out lie.”

‘I’m Not Racist’: Langton

Following the media coverage and Parliament discussions, Ms. Langton denied calling No voters racist and stupid and said the misreported headlines had been crafted to make her look racist.

“The media reporting is a very deliberate tactic to make me look like a racist when I’m not,” she told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“I am not a racist, and I don’t believe that the majority of Australians are racist. I do believe that the No campaigners are using racist tactics.”

In response, media reports have since adjusted their headlines to better reflect Ms. Langton’s assertion.

Ms. Langton has indicated that she was asking for legal advice on the matter and was also seeking to have Mr. Dutton remove his social media post that contained the original headlines.

“Australians are genuinely concerned about the unknown consequences of Labor’s risky Voice proposal, which is the biggest constitutional change in our history,” Mr. Dutton wrote on Facebook.

“The Prime Minister should condemn these comments from leading Voice advocate Marcia Langton.”