As the referendum campaign season buckles down with only four weeks left ’til voting day, a group on the No campaign have landed themselves in hot water for allegedly telling their volunteers to spread “fear and misinformation” on the intentions of the Voice to Parliament.
In a special report it was found that one of the No campaign groups, Fair Australia, were providing scripts to use during cold-calls where volunteers were told to say the Voice’s Yes campaigners wants to “abolish Australia Day” and “push for compensation and reparations through a treaty”.
Advocate for the Yes campaign and one of the individuals who crafted the Uluru Statement, Noel Pearson, asserts these details are a “deliberate tactic” of using blatant misinformation to play on undecided voters fears, to coerce into a position based on fear.
But wait, the Vote No training gets more cooked.
Apparently when opening a cold-call volunteers were taught by the instructor, ex-Liberal staffer Chris Inglis, that they should intentionally leave out the part where they say they’re from the No campaign so that the person on the line doesn’t get spooked. Bro, if people actively don’t want to talk to you maybe do some self-eval on that one.
Minister for Education Jason Clare has stated he believes the No campaign’s game is to “flat out lie” and has asked if they’re “so confident that what they’re saying is right, why do they have to lie to the Australian people?”
When contacted by reporters, a spokesperson for Fair Australia explained that callers are “asked to identify themselves as calling from Fair Australia” and stated that anyone accusing them of lying was actually lying themselves. The classic “takes one to know one” response.
Noel Pearson has stated he believes the backbone of the No campaign relies on ignorance rather than understanding, as is evident through the slogan of “if you don’t know, vote no”.
