Lidia Thorpe claims the Voice referendum has made Australia ‘more racist’ as she explains why she wants everyone to vote against
Lidia Thorpe has claimed the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum has made Australia ‘more racist’ and has called on the country to vote ‘No’.
The independent Aboriginal Senator, who is a staunch ‘No’ supporter and considered part of the ‘progressive’ No camp, made the comment on The Project on Thursday evening.
Host Waleed Aly asked her if she was against the “reconciliation project” and whether voting “no” on the Voice would make that process easier.
Senator Thorpe responded by speaking about the reconciliation movement when John Howard was Prime Minister and argued that racism in the country had been exacerbated by the referendum.
“So Howard said at the end of that reconciliation movement 20 years ago, or 22 years ago now, that the country is too racist to reconcile,” she stated.
Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe (pictured) claimed the Voice to Parliament referendum had made Australia ‘more racist’ during an appearance on The Project
“And I think this referendum has only exacerbated racism in this country because it gives racists a platform and it also gives them a platform.”
‘And it will also provide a platform for those who think they know best what we want.’
Senator Thorpe then claimed that the Australian Constitution is a ‘racist document’ designed only to ‘hurt’ First Nations people.
“We never protested to introduce the Constitution,” she said.
“The Constitution that was created in this country in 1901 was created only to harm our people.”
She then took aim at the Yes campaign, claiming that those who supported an Indigenous Voice were “wrong.”
‘She haven’t done their homework or they’ve done their homework and they just want to nail us into the assimilation paper and become nice, decent little indigenous Australians.” she argued.
Before the interview came to an end, Senator Thorpe urged Australians to vote ‘no’ to the vote ‘for a better future’.
She took aim at the Yes campaign, claiming those who supported an Indigenous Vote were ‘wrong’ (photo: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right) and Noel Pearson (left) campaigning for the Yes vote in Summer Hill )
Senator Thorpe urged Australians to vote ‘no’ in referendum ‘for a better future’
The Aboriginal Senator was originally on the programme respond to controversial comments from former AFL player and media personality Sam Newman.
Newman, who is also a vocal No supporter, had criticized Welcome to Country’s practices on his podcast, You Can’t Be Serious.
He suggested to his listeners on Wednesday’s episode that they should start with “cheers” or “slow hand clapping” whenever a Welcome to Country exercise is held at a public event.
Senator Thorpe branded the Geelong Cats star a ‘racist’ and said he should be banned from attending the AFL Grand Final.
She also explained that Welcome to Country was about peace and bringing people together.
During an appearance on the Today show on Thursday morning, Senator Thorpe questioned the relevance of Newman’s opinion.
“Sam Newman, I’m not sure why he’s even in the news. He is not relevant to any debate,” she said.
Senator Thorpe has been brought onto the show to respond to comments made by former AFL player and media personality Sam Newman (pictured)
‘It’s about peace. The whole message behind it is respect.’
“Sam Newman is not a respectful man at the best of times. He needs to educate himself.”
The programme’s host, Karl Stefanovic, then asked Ms Thorpe to comment on suggestions that there were ‘too many’ Welcome to Country ceremonies.
“I think it depends on the traditional owners themselves and the event. It is important that people understand the land they are on and the stories behind it,” she said.
‘I don’t think there are too many. I think the stories that are told are important for this country to grow up and come together.’
The Voice to Parliament referendum will take place on October 14.