Where It Went Wrong for Labor and The Voice

Supporters hold merchandise in support of the vote during a Yes 23 community event in support of an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, in Sydney, Australia, on July 2, 2023. AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi

Commentary

For the past week, the Australian Parliament has been engrossed in a debate about what material constitutes the Uluru Statement from the Heart, the document upon which the proposed “Voice to Parliament” is based.

For months now, it has been the claim of the “yes” campaign that the document is the short one-page document familiar to most people who have engaged in the discussion.

But a freedom-of-information request to the Indigenous agency responsible for the issue revealed a longer 26-page document containing much detail about Aboriginal sovereignty, reparations, a treaty, and so on—leading many opponents of The Voice to claim the one-page is merely a sanitised version of a more radical plan.

The revelation of a longer, more detailed document led the “yes” campaign to immediately roll out Indigenous spokespersons, Megan Davis and Pat Anderson, to claim that the statement really is just the rather benign one-pager.

The trouble with these claims was that television footage emerged of both of these people previously claiming that the Uluru Statement is a longer, more detailed 18-page document; Prof. Davis said so on numerous occasions.

We may never know which claim is correct, but it highlights the continuing problems for the “yes” campaign. Instead of proclaiming the alleged benefits of The Voice, its proponents were on the back foot, defending themselves from the charge that their campaign was deceptive and misleading.

Nothing More Than a ‘Vibe’

In my experience, there are few novel approaches to political campaigns.

Campaigns that depart from tried and true political principles and strategies are always in danger of failing.

The Voice campaign seems to have been constructed on a “vibe”—a feel-good exercise about recognition of the Indigenous people in Australia for thousands of years. However, the proposal always has been about much more.

Even the choice of the expression “The Voice” sounds like something created by an advertising agency.

Perhaps it was designed to engender associations with the popular television music talent program of the same name, or to trigger a subconscious connection with the legendary performer John Farnham, known as “the voice.”

Running a campaign on a “vibe” is dangerous unless there is detail behind it. This has been a major mistake of the “yes” campaign.

Pat Anderson with the Referendum Working Group address the media after the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023 bill in introduced to the federal Parliament in Canberra, Australia, on March 30, 2023. Martin Ollman/Getty Images

Staying Mum on the Details Does Not Help

Repeated requests for greater explanation of The Voice have been met with the response that it is encapsulated in the one-page statement and further details will be established after the referendum.

A cursory survey of political history will reveal that when proponents fail to provide detail, others will endeavour to fill the gap. The “yes” proponents claim that this is unfair, but it is a situation of their own making.

The revelation of the 26-page document compounds the problems.

Opponents now say the “yes” campaign has been hiding the details for fear of the consequences should the more radical claims have been revealed. This makes their campaign appear even more deceptive in the eyes of many.

Having been on the defensive for not knowing or revealing the details, they are now on the back foot again for allegedly hiding them.

Leaving aside the merits or otherwise of The Voice, the “yes” campaign has been on the defensive repeatedly.

Consider other basic political mistakes.

If the campaign was about the “vibe” it should have been short to maximise the feel-good factor of recognition.

But it drags on, with the prime minister still unable or unwilling to name the date for the referendum, although it is widely expected to be held on Oct. 14.

The rejection of the advice of many supporters to narrow the scope of the proposal—to recognising Indigenous people in the Australians Constitution—also played into the claims that more radical changes were in the pipeline.

And if The Voice is merely an advisory body, then why not clarify its scope now? Proposals to narrow the scope of its operation to just the executive arm of government were also rejected.

Onus on Proponents to Convince the Public

Claiming that the proposal is just about recognition—something an overwhelming majority of Australians do support—when it is far wider, as encapsulated in the slogan “Voice, Treaty, Truth,” also creates distrust.

The breaches of the well-known “rules” of political campaigning go on and on.

Highlighting the support of sports stars might reinforce the feel-good factor, but it hardly changes a vote, especially when one of the celebrities—Shaq O’Neal—isn’t an Australian and doesn’t live here.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney, and former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal exchange gifts before a press conference in Sydney, Australia, on Aug. 27, 2022. Flavio Brancaleone/Pool/AAP Image

Wealthy corporations spending millions on the “yes” campaign and instructing people how to vote when ordinary Australians are struggling with the cost of living fails to resonate with most voters.

Resorting to personal insults makes the proponents appear rattled and desperate.

The refusal of the minister to debate the shadow minister compounds negative perceptions.

Expressing outrage that a statement should not have been included in the “no” pamphlet—even though accurately quoted—because the quoted person supports the proposal simply highlighted the point of the statement.

“Don’t give an adverse story legs” is the advice tendered to every neophyte politician.

Telling Australians that the issue can never be revisited if the referendum fails defies constitutional principles and is unconvincing.

The referendum may well succeed, although history and current polling suggest otherwise.

But a referendum is unlike a normal election. The weight of the argument falls on the proponents.

Australians have repeatedly shown that unless convinced of the merits of the case, they prefer the status quo.

If the referendum does fail, it will be, in part, a consequence of the misguided political campaign of its proponents.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.