A council has closed public comment after coming under fire for claiming 5,000 people attended a Yes rally to support the Indigenous vote in parliament, while a photo appears to show a much smaller gathering.
Sydney City Council tweeted the image of Sunday’s rally in the inner-city suburb of Surry Hills, with attendees gathering to form the word YES for an overhead shot.
“Thanks to the 5,000 people who came to Prince Alfred Park today for the rally in Sydney for a Yes23 event,” the council tweeted on Sunday.
The claim that there were 5,000 people in the photo immediately provoked skepticism.
Crowd safety expert and former Liberal Democrat candidate for the NSW upper house Daniel Lewkovitz, who owns Sydney-based security firm Calamity turned to technology to shoot the council figure.
This photo, tweeted by Sydney City Council, along with the claim that 5,000 people attended the rally to support a yes vote for the Indigenous vote in parliament, sparked a lot of skepticism online
“Based on the known area of that space and human modeling software I estimate there are about 700 people in that photo,” he tweeted.
Another Twitter user gave a similar estimate.
“There are maybe 800 people there. Unless more in the wings?’ they tweeted.
‘5000 people? Lucky you’re 500,” another person chimed in.
On Monday, about 24 hours after the first tweet was posted, the Council announced it had closed comments on the post and others supporting the Voice.
Some accused the council of shutting down the debate.
“Hey Sydney City Council, if you don’t allow debate but try to cram this yes nonsense down our throats then put it where the sun don’t shine,” one person tweeted.
‘You are a council. Stop taking sides.’
A spokesperson for the council told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday that comments were closed because they were not sufficiently ‘respectful’.
Sydney security expert and former Liberal Democrat candidate Daniel Lewkovitz turned to technology to question the figure
“The City of Sydney welcomes open discussion and respectful debate on its social media channels and we ask all users to treat each other with respect,” the spokesperson said.
“Recently there has been no respectful debate in our comments section and we have decided to disable comments on some posts, which is consistent with our processes.”
Daily Mail asked for examples of the ‘disrespectful comments’ but the council refused to provide them.
The Council also defended its crowd estimate, saying the photo was taken late in the proceedings after most people had gone home.
“Event organizers estimate a total of 5,000 people attended the event in Prince Alfred Park on Sunday,” the spokesman said.
“The photo and video of the ‘Yes’ group posted on our social media channels was taken after official proceedings had been completed and failed to capture everyone attending the event.”
A number of people wondered why the council was behind the Yes case in the first place.
In drafting legislation for the referendum, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged not to spend public money promoting either side of the debate, other than battling out pamphlets outlining both the yes and no case.
“Is it just me or is it the local sculpture authorities like councils etc spending taxpayer money on the voice that appears to be embezzlement,” one person tweeted.
“Who gave these bodies the right to spend this money on an atmosphere? Where’s the responsibility??’
Independent mayor Clover Moore (pictured at an event in Sydney in March) leads the Sydney City Council
Another Twitter user claimed that the Council, led by Independent Mayor Clover Moore, spent an eye-watering sum on the campaign.
‘Correct. They have no place to give our money to the Voice. Sydney City Council alone is giving $500,000,” the tweet said.
The council’s spokesman said supporting The Voice was in line with long-term policy.
“The Council decided in 2018 to wholeheartedly support the Uluru Declaration and has decided to support a yes vote in the upcoming referendum,” they said.
“While the Council voted to approve the City of Sydney’s communication and engagement activities in support of the ‘YES’ campaign, we respect all views and encourage people to make an informed decision on voting day.
Yes23 rallies were held across Australia on Sunday in a bid to bolster support for the Voice with recent polls indicating the proposal is sliding toward defeat.
The most recent Newspoll revealed that support for the Voice fell to 43 percent of voters overall with only two states, NSW and Victoria, following suit to vote yes.
The referendum, which will be held between October and December this year, will require a mandate from the majority of the population and most states.
Sydney City Council has been approached for comment.