No Advocate’s niece Warren Mundine called her uncle’s stance on The Voice “incoherent” while revealing she strongly supports the referendum.
Karen Mundine, CEO of Reconciliation of Australia, 51, said the family had argued over their respective positions on the referendum and claimed her late mother Kaye, who is Mr Mundine’s sister, would be on her side .
Mr Mundine, 67, a former Labor president and Liberal party candidate in the 2019 election, is one of the leading campaigners for the No vote and said indigenous people needed to “turn the page” and stop discussing past trauma .
Ms Mundine said The new dailyLucie Morris-Marr says that while she respects and cares for her uncle, she finds his statements “incompatible” with her beliefs.
Although he is firmly in the No camp, he supports treaty negotiations between the government and indigenous people and says racism is worse in Australia today than when he was growing up.
Reconciliation Australia CEO Karen Mundine (pictured) has criticized her uncle Warren, a leading figure in the No campaign, as ‘incoherent’
Mr Mundine (pictured) said Indigenous people need to “move on” and stop discussing past trauma, but he also supports treaty discussions.
Anthony Mundine described the Voice as a “pure hoax” and expressed concerns that “land sovereignty could be ceded” if the referendum was successful.
Ms Mundine said the family argued over their respective positions and even claimed her late mother, Warren Mundine’s sister Kaye (pictured), would be on her side.
Ms Mundine suggested the family could be drifting apart over his political views, saying she “completely” disagreed with her uncle’s views on The Voice.
“Will people be that close?” I don’t know at the moment. It’s hard to say,” she said.
The most high-profile member of the Mundine family, former boxing champion and NRL superstar Anthony, who is Warren’s first cousin, also plans to vote no.
He described the Voice as a “pure hoax.”
Ms Mundine also claimed her mother Kaye, an indigenous rights advocate who died in 2016 aged 69, would disagree with her brother, with whom she used to “argue… a lot”.
“She would hate all this debate,” she said.
Ms Mundine said her uncle had a direct impact on her childhood and “helped raise her” and that she loved and respected him.
“He has a point of view and he defends it, but I totally disagree with that point of view,” she said.
The campaign’s growing divisions have led to abuse directed at Reconciliation Australia, the organization she has led since 2017.
They were bombarded with abusive calls and messages on social media and even received “an unsigned threat”.
One of his female colleagues, who was going door to door for the Yes campaign, also had a cup of hot coffee thrown at her.
Mr Mundine previously told Daily Mail Australia that Voice had not had an impact on relationships within the family.
“In our family there is a wide range of opinions, just like in any other family,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
Former Labor leader Warren Mundine told Daily Mail Australia that his family is like any other in Australia: some will vote no, some yes, and many are still undecided. He votes no
“When we get together, we talk about family things, football, our lives. We don’t let the Voice interfere with family matters.
“We love each other and I am very, very proud of Karen. She’s had an incredible career and she’s an extraordinary woman.
Mr Mundine was the ninth of eleven children and grew up in Auburn, in Sydney’s west, with seven brothers and three sisters, including Kaye.
Ms Mundine plans to vote Yes because Voice’s advisory body will be “a better mechanism for better results”.
“The Voice is what First Nations people want so that we can have some freedom to act in our lives,” she said.