Chis Kenny has criticized Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, accusing her of misleading the public about what an Indigenous voice for Parliament means.
The Sky News presenter attacked Ms Price, saying she needed to ‘correct her flawed scaremongering’ and stop ‘misleading the public’.
Ms Price is firmly against The Voice labeling it the ‘biggest gaslighting event our nation has ever seen’, claiming an advisory body would be a ‘step backwards’ and that the referendum is a ‘wall between Australians’ will create.
Kenny, a prominent supporter of The Voice, lashed out at the Opposition Indigenous Australians senator in a devastating takedown.
“The whole point of the No campaign is to promote fear of the Vote,” he said Monday night.
Sky News presenter Chis Kenny has criticized Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (pictured), accusing her of misleading the public about what an Indigenous voice for Parliament means
“Opposition politicians have said, ‘It’s not really about a vote, it’s really about a treaty or reparations or even changing the date of Australia Day.’
Kenny said the No party’s claim that the Voice will have executive power is “a fear that must be overcome.”
‘In the official referendum pamphlet, the No case uses the word ‘risky’ and the Voice is also emphasized as a first step towards a treaty.’
The presenter said there are two main points why he said the No campaign is based on fear.
‘First and foremost, the Voice is exclusively advisory, so whatever it advises on all these matters, only governments can act. Only parliament has the power.
“And second, all these problems happen anyway. All these efforts will be made regardless of the vote. In fact, state governments are negotiating treaties as we speak,” he said.
Kenny said Ms Price is “absolutely wrong to deny that the Voice will only be advisory.”
“This goes against the constitutional wording, the advice of the Solicitor General and the advice of former Supreme Court Chief Justices and law professors, all of whom confirm that it is purely advisory,” he said.
He added that “it is on this deception that the No campaign depends all its fear.”
The Sky presenter said leading No campaigner Warren Mundine had exposed “the appearance of these scare campaigns” in an interview on Sunday.
He said Mr Mundine “firstly admitted that he is one of those who wants to change the date of Australia Day.
“So even though they are campaigning to change the date, some in the No camp actually want to do the same thing.”
Kenny said the fear of making treaties with Indigenous Australians has “probably been the most effective fear for the No party… but it turns out Mundine also supports treaties.”
He said many No campaigners, including Coalition MPs, are very angry with Mr Mundine over his interview on ABC’s Insiders show and are now “trying to clean up for (him)”.
“He disrupted their campaign, so where is the scare campaign now? What do they want us to fear now?’
The conservative commentator said the Yes side must fight harder in the remaining days before the October 14 vote “Expose the mistakes and deliberate deceit of the No campaign.”
“The day the Coalition decided to stand up to the Vote and fight it hard was the day this campaign became hyper-partisan, a real battle, a battle between Labor and the Coalition, ‘that is,'” he said.
Kenny (pictured), a prominent supporter of The Voice, said the No party’s claim that the Voice will have executive power is a “fear that needs to be allayed.”
Kenny said Warren Mundine (pictured) ‘should appear in ads for the Yes campaign because he has revealed that two of the No campaign’s big fears are just appearances’
“But most of the media, and many in the Yes campaign, have instead focused on a pointless culture war debate over whether colonization has led to lasting trauma for Indigenous people or not…
‘We do not vote for or against colonization. The question before us is whether or not we should recognize indigenous people in the Constitution through the practical reform of a vote.”
Kenny ended by saying that Mr Mundine ‘should appear in ads for the Yes campaign because he has revealed that two of the No campaign’s great fears are just appearances.
‘This debate must become serious. It should be about the facts, and not about the scare campaigns and culture wars.’