Indigenous Boxer Anthony Mundine Says ‘No’ to The Voice

Anthony Mundine of Australia fights Sergey Rabchenko of Belarus during the WBC Silver Light Middleweight fight at Hisense Arena on November 12, 2014 in Melbourne, Australia. Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Australian Indigenous boxer and former rugby league star Anthony Mundine has spoken out against The Voice proposal to alter the country’s Constitution.

The outspoken Mr. Mundine is the cousin of Warren Mundine, former Labor Party national president and prominent advocate of the “No” campaign against the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

“Why the Hell would we need a Voice? We’ve got [Indigenous] people in Parliament, we’ve got [Indigenous] senators, we already making our voices heard,” Mr. Mundine told Sky News Australia on Aug. 28.

He was also critical of corporate support and the Aboriginal lobbying industry behind the push to change the Australian Constitution.

“Now blackfellas ain’t got much money. If you get $15,000—I’m gonna say, ‘Yes, what do you want me to do?’ Because you’re feeding him,” Mr. Mundine said.

Later this year, Australians will go to the polls to vote in a referendum on whether to alter the Constitution.

The proposed changes include altering the preamble of the nation’s founding document to recognise Indigenous peoples and to also establish a near-permanent advisory body to the Parliament.

This advisory body will have the authority to “make representations” to the Parliament and executive on all matters deemed relevant to Indigenous people.

Proponents argue that a dedicated body, with direct influence on federal policy-making, will be another step towards “closing the gap” between Indigenous and mainstream Australia, and will help deal with chronic issues like unemployment, alcoholism, and welfare dependency.

Corporate, Lobby Group Support

To garner support, the Labor government has enlisted prominent figures and corporate Australia to back the “Yes” vote for the referendum, which requires a majority of Australian states to support a change.

Yet Mr. Mundine was critical of figureheads such as former National Basketball Association player Shaquille O'Neal and Australian Football League player Adam Goodes for their public backing of the proposal.

“They’re all getting paid. Everyone’s getting paid,” he said.

Mr. Mundine’s former competition, the National Rugby League, is one of several major Australian sporting organisations to back The Voice.

In May, over 20 national sporting codes announced their official support including the Australian Football League, Football Australia, Basketball Australia, Cricket Australia, Tennis Australia, Netball Australia, and Rugby Australia.

Earlier this month, national air carrier Qantas also threw its lot with the Yes campaign along with listed companies Wesfarmers, Woolworths, and mining giant Rio Tinto.

Liberal Party Members Splinter to Support The Voice

Meanwhile, The Voice has divided the federal Opposition with major figures from the centre-right Liberal Party in support despite the party’s official stance being “No.”

On Aug. 28, former Liberal Foreign Minister Julie Bishop stood alongside Labor’s Penny Wong to hand out flyers in Perth, where advocates for The Voice have been working hard to arrest poor polling in recent months.

“I believe that this is an opportunity first, to give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders their rightful place in the Constitution. But secondly, to give them the right, and the risk, and the responsibility to come up with policies that will address the problems, as they see them, and get better outcomes,” Ms. Bishop told reporters.

Consistent polling has shown dwindling support for The Voice in Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia, and South Australia in recent months, which could see The Voice fail at the polls.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is remaining upbeat, however.

“What we'll be doing is campaigning positively, because this is a positive campaign. This is about recognising First Nations people in our founding document, the Constitution, and it’s about listening to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,” he told reporters in Perth.