New footage has emerged of beleaguered Yes campaigner Marcia Langton accusing ‘hard No voters’ of ‘spewing racism’.
Professor Langton has led seminars and lectures across the country to promote the Indigenous voice in Parliament, and stood alongside the Prime Minister when he announced the referendum question in March.
The academic faced backlash this week after she accused the No campaign of being steeped in “basic racism” or “sheer stupidity” – and later insisted her words were misrepresented and not descriptive of No voters.
However, new footage broadcast on Sky News from a panel discussion at the University of Queensland in July shows Professor Langton discussing a ‘wave’ of racism amid the Voice debate.
She said: “The wave of racist nonsense is confined to a minority of Australians.
‘Ordinary Australians think, ‘Yes, of course I’ll vote for the Voice’. And that would be, for example, 48-49 percent.
‘Then there are the hard no voters. I hope it’s about 20 percent.
“And they are the ones spreading racism.”
Professor Langton accused Conservative party leaders – the Liberal Party’s Peter Dutton and the Nationals’ David Littleproud – of ‘appealing to their racist base with the claim that the proposal will racially divide the nation’.
In a separate segment broadcast by Sky, Prof Langton also targeted social workers and the police.
“Families have been broken up by social workers who are generally white and racist,” she said.
‘We need a radical cultural change.’
The revelations come amid criticism of Professor Langton’s comments at a forum in Bunbury, Western Australiawhere she urged Australians to step up scrutiny over claims made by the No campaign.
“Every time the No cases make their arguments, when you start to pick it apart you end up with either fundamental racism – I’m sorry to say that’s where it ends up – or sheer stupidity,” said Prof. Langton.
“If you look at any reputable fact-checker, everyone says the No case is factually incorrect. They’re lying to you.’
‘I asked the no voters: what do you think would be a better option? What must we do? Continue as we are, without change?
“I haven’t heard any of them come up with a solution that would work on its own.”
Prominent Aboriginal leader and Yes campaigner Marcia Langton has accused No campaigners of opposing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s referendum because of “basic racism” or “sheer stupidity”
Professor Marcia Langton made the comments at a forum in Bunbury, Western Australia, saying Australians need to do more research into claims made by the No campaign.
According to local newspaper Bunbury Herald, the event took place on the campus of Edith Cowan University, but the institution denied organizing it.
Prof. Langton appeared alongside local Labor MP Don Punch, who was reportedly hosting the open forum on The Voice referendum.
She added that former Supreme Court judges had said the referendum question was “safe, sound, robust and also practical”.
In a swipe at leading Senator Jacinta Price, she added: “The old judges tell you this, but Jacinta says otherwise.
“It’s up to you whose advice you take.”
Prof. Langton later insisted that she was not calling the No voters racist or stupid, just that the arguments used in the No campaign were.
“I say the No case claims are based on racism and stupidity – and appeal to racism and stupidity,” Prof Langton told the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday.
“And they’re appealing to Australians to scare them into adopting very racist and stupid beliefs.”
She added: “They are scaring you with a statement that is patently untrue and based on racism and stupidity.
‘The media reporting is a very deliberate tactic to make me look like a racist, when I am not. I’m not a racist, and I don’t believe the majority of Australians are racist.
‘I do believe the No campaigners are using racist tactics.’
Her comments come after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s office stressed the need for a “respectful debate” on the Voice referendum to Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday.
The Prime Minister has long been a supporter of Prof Langton.
In 1986, as a 23-year-old Young Labor activist, he signed a letter with her and Indigenous leader Pat Dodson demanding reparations for the ‘invasion’ of Australia.
He told MPs in Question Time on Tuesday that the No campaign was pursuing a “deliberate strategy of promoting fear over facts”.
He added: “They are telling their campaigners to promote fear rather than hope. Promote division instead of unity.
‘Promote ignoring instead of listening. Promote exclusion instead of recognition.’
Professor Arcia Langton later insisted that she was not calling the No voters racist or stupid, but merely that the arguments used in the No campaign
But Senator Price, shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, slammed Prof Langton’s outburst, which she said would be “deeply insulting” to the half of the population who now support the No campaign.
She said The Australian it was an ‘insight into the mindset and agenda of the Aboriginal activists who fueled the divisive Voice.’
Senator Price added: ‘Whichever way the referendum goes, the outcome appears to be extremely close.
“Any suggestion that voters unconvinced by their proposed vote are siding with racism or stupidity is deeply insulting to at least half the country.”
Prof Langton’s language is at odds with the official line from the Prime Minister’s office, which is demanding a “respectful” debate after Indigenous Australians said they have faced a tsunami of racist vitriol since the referendum was promised.
Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney repeated the call for respect during Question Time on Tuesday after being challenged by Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Lay to condemn Prof Langton’s comments.
“I want to say this very clearly,” she said. “I call on everyone involved in this referendum to act with respect and care for their fellow Australians.
‘We are a great country. We are strengthened by listening to a diversity of views and opinions.
‘In essence, the Voice is about listening. Listening to some of Australia’s most disadvantaged First Nations people, listening to remote communities so we can help close the gap and improve lives.
‘Because we know that listening leads to better results. Of course, there is no room for racism of any kind in this country. We are a diverse country.
‘This is one of our greatest strengths. Whether your family arrived here 60,000 years ago or six years ago, we are all part of the story of this country.”
She added: “I encourage all Australians to vote Yes on October 14 because it’s time to listen, it’s time for recognition.”
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton sought to suspend standing orders during Question Time to debate how the government would handle the referendum following the latest revelations.
He said the prime minister’s actions were “dividing the country in an unprecedented and reckless way,” and that he “arrogantly” believed the nation would vote Vote without knowing the full details.
His motion asked Parliament to “express its grave concern at this Prime Minister’s comprehensive mishandling of the Voice referendum”, and denounced the “contempt shown by this government for millions of Australians”.
The move was supported by Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, who described Labour’s position as a ‘window into the psyche of the Yes campaign and a window into the psyche of a modern Labor Party’.
“They refuse to accept that ordinary Australians don’t like what they see when it comes to The Voice.”
Attorney General Mark Dreyfus rejected the opposition attack, labeling Dutton “the leader of a disinformation and disinformation campaign.”
“He knows,” he said. “He has repeatedly misled the people of Australia during this campaign. And he should be ashamed of himself.’
On the ABC on Tuesday, Yes campaigner Noel Pearson joined calls for a more considered debate to win over voters swinging either way at the ballot.
“There is a large group of Australians who are still indecisive, either weak in their no or soft in their yes,” Pearson said.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stressed the need for a ‘respectful debate’ about the Voice referendum
“I find that as long as we treat their questions and concerns with respect, and pay attention to the outstanding questions they have in their minds, I find that people are willing to listen to the answers.
“People are willing to consider changing their position once they have a better understanding, a clear understanding of what we are doing with this referendum.
“So it’s up to us to win.”
But he conceded that the vote would be “a test of our democracy, because the real, big question is: can hope, faith and optimism prevail over fear and anger?”
“You know, that’s a real question for us in this age of social media, in the modern democratic age.
“Can a campaign of positivity for the future prevail against headwinds, an absolute raging storm of fear and anger?”