Peta Credlin and Sky News colleague Chris Kenny’s feud heats up as the pair use their prime time TV slots to shoot each other

The feud between Sky News hosts Peta Credlin and Chris Kenny escalated on Tuesday when the pair accused each other of spreading ‘nonsense’ and ‘telling lies’ about the founding document for the proposed Indigenous vote to parliament.

Credlin, who strongly opposes The Voice, exchanged accusations with Kenny, who claimed she was spreading a “furphy” that the Uluru Statement of the Heart would be a 26-page document instead of just 440 words.

The issue is whether the Uluru statement has a broader agenda of change than just the Voice’s “advisory body,” which Kenny, as a supporter of the proposal, denies.

Kenny said claims that the statement contained steps towards a treaty between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, as well as calls for more ‘truth’ about colonization were ‘nonsense’.

“Credlin’s claim hinges on the fact that in some public Word document or file they put several more pages in the same set of documents with the Uluru statement,” Kenny said.

Chris Kenny rejected claims by fellow Sky News host Peta Credlin that the Uluru Statement of the Heart was longer than the one page usually referenced

“These pages are not the Uluru statement, they are not government policy, they have no status whatsoever.”

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A similar denial was also made by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during Tuesday’s Question Time at the House of Parliament, when asked if the statement was a longer document.

“Nothing exposes the falsity of the No campaign’s arguments like this conspiracy theory and they’re struggling to sort out their scares,” Albanese said.

“I mean, what part did Marcia Langton play in faking the moon landing? There’s a lot of projection going on here, sir, more projection than a film festival.’

Credlin accused the unlikely allies of misleading Australians ahead of the referendum expected to be held in October or November.

“Now I’m all for alternative points of view, but you can’t have alternative facts and no one, least of all prime ministers, gets a chance to mislead the House,” she said.

Credlin added that ‘one of the strengths of Sky (News) is that there isn’t a group here that thinks, all of us, all hosts are free, indeed encouraged to express our views’.

Credlin cited Voice architect Megan Davis and an FOI request to show that the Statement from the Heart was a 26-page document

Credlin cited Voice architect Megan Davis and an FOI request to show that the Statement from the Heart was a 26-page document

However, she accused Mr Albanese and Kenny of trying to hide ‘the whole box and dice’ of the full statement because it outlines ‘the voice, the treaty and the truth’.

To back up her claims, she cited Uluru Statement of the Heart architect Megan Davis, who said on two occasions that the document was “long…about 18 to 20 pages.”

Credlin said Ms Davis had called out the Prime Minister’s ‘lie that the Uluru statement is a simple one-pager’ and this was also verified by the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA), an advisory body to the Minister of Indigenous Affairs.

A request for freedom of information led to the release of documents from the First Nations National Constitutional Convention that took place in Uluru in 2017 and led to a heart statement

The document released by the FOI can be found at the NIAA website and is listed as Document 14 in a collection of convention materials.

Credlin said the government’s FOI lawyers had twice confirmed to the person who submitted the FOI request that the 26-page addendum was the full Uluru Statement of the Heart.

According to Credlin, the first of the 26 pages, normally considered the full statement, was just the introduction.

“He (Mr Albanese) and Chris Kenny cannot credibly claim that the FOI lawyers of the government’s own Indigenous body are somehow wrong in confirming what I have told you” said Credlin.

A road map from the 26-page document that Credlin says is the complete Uluru Statement of the Heart

A road map from the 26-page document that Credlin says is the complete Uluru Statement of the Heart

“That document has 26 pages, including three pages of road map diagrams.

“It’s all in there, including reparations calculated, perhaps based on Australia’s GDP, paid to Aboriginal people.”

A roadmap showed that a Makarrata (Treaty) Commission was being set up to act as the umpire sitting above parliament and the vote in treaty negotiations.

Credlin cited the document as saying that such a treaty was “the pinnacle of our agenda” and “would be the vehicle for indigenous peoples to “achieve self-determination, autonomy, and self-government.”

“This, I repeat, is all in the statement from the heart to which the Prime Minister has fully committed his government no fewer than 34 times,” Credlin said.

All Australians should read and understand Uluru’s full statement before voting.

“The mere fact that the government is now trying to bury this statement says everything about what will happen to this country when the Prime Minister’s voice stands.”

A referendum will be held at an undetermined date later this year, where Australians will vote on whether or not to recognize Indigenous peoples in the constitution through the creation of the Voice.

Passing the referendum requires the consent of an overall majority of voters to be obtained and it must also be approved in a majority of states.

What we know so far about the Voice to Parliament

Here, Daily Mail Australia looks at some of the top questions on the Voice so far, and how the government has addressed them:

What advice can The Voice give to parliament and the government?

The Voice advises on matters directly related to indigenous peoples.

It will respond to government requests, while also having the power to proactively address issues they believe affect them.

The group will have its own resources to research and engage with grassroots communities to ensure it best reflects their needs.

How are the members of the Voice chosen?

Members of the Voice are appointed by indigenous communities and will serve on the committee for a fixed period to be determined.

The way the communities elect their representatives is agreed upon by the local communities in conjunction with the government as part of a ‘post-referendum process’ to ensure cultural legitimacy.

Who can join the committee?

Members of the Voice must be Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

They are elected from every state and territory and have a balanced representation of men and women at the national level.

The government has also guaranteed that young people will be included on the committee to ensure representation across the broad scope of the community.

Will the vote be transparent?

The government states that The Voice will be subject to auditing and reporting requirements to ensure it is held accountable and remains transparent.

Voice members will be held to National Anti-Corruption Commission standards and will be disciplined or removed from the committee if misconduct is found.

Will the Voice have veto power?

No.

Does The Voice operate independently of other government agencies?

The committee must respect the work and role of existing organizations, says the government.

Will the Voice handle all funds?

The Voice will not manage money directly or provide services to the community.

Its only role will be to comment on improving existing government programs and services, and advise on new ideas coming through the parties.