Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has told hundreds of ‘No’ supporters in Perth she “didn’t need a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament” to achieve what she has.
The Northern Territory Country Liberals Senator, and prominent ‘No’ campaigner, stepped off a plane on Monday evening and headed straight to the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre (PCEC), where she headlined a major campaign event less than two weeks from the October 14 referendum.
“We do not want a future where our children aren’t proud to call themselves Australian … that’s not the Australia that we’ve grown up with,” Senator Price said, after receiving a standing ovation in the PCEC’s Riverside Theatre.
“These corporations are being funded to push through reconciliation, while the rest of us are just wandering around being reconciled,” she said, referring to companies like the major supermarkets and sporting codes that have thrown their support behind the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
Senator Price went on to list her achievements, most notably Alice Springs Town councillor, and her current role as Shadow Aboriginal Affairs Minister under Peter Dutton.
“We sure as hell didn’t need a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament to achieve those things,” she said.
“We’ve got to fix the structures that already exist instead of muddying the waters and adding more bureaucracy and shoving it into our constitution.”
Senator Price finished her address to another standing ovation.
REFERENDUM ‘MOST IMPORTANT’ IN AUSTRALIA’S HISTORY: MUNDINE
Earlier, fellow prominent ‘No’ campaigner Warren Mundine branded the upcoming vote as the “most important in Australian history.”
“Do we want a country that’s divided by race? Or do we want a country that’s all coming together … to be the better self, an Australia that welcomes people from all over the world?” Mr Mundine asked the crowd, speaking ahead of Senator Price.
“The Yes campaign focus on the past … but we’re talking about now.
“I encourage everyone to follow Australians, to help on the day, and vote no to division.”
‘YES’ PROTESTERS ROCK RALLY
A mighty but modest group of ‘Yes’ protesters showed up to demonstrate against the rally before it started.
A group of at least 40 mostly young ‘Yes’ supporters berated rally-goes as they walked to the PCEC ahead of the main event, with slogans such as “two, four, six, eight, racist rubbish, racist hate.”
Most of the ‘No’ crowd were unfazed by the noisy barrage directed their way, but there was a sizeable counter-protest trying to drown out the ‘Yes’ protesters, with a line of about 10 police officers between them.
“You don’t know what you’re on about … you don’t have the numbers!” yelled one man in a ‘No’ shirt, who had inexplicably been handed a bullhorn.
Among those standing guard for the ‘No’ side were at least three members of the nationalist Australia First Party.
However, the numbers of ‘Yes’ demonstrators so far hasn’t matched their Adelaide and Brisbane counterparts at similar ‘No’ events.
The rally has been organised by Fair Australia, which is the branch of conservative lobbying group Advance Australia pushing the ‘No’ vote.
The event also coincides with pre-poll voting opening in Western Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.
Hundreds of ‘No’ voters filed into the PCEC’s Riverside Theatre to hear Senator Price and Mr Mundine speak, numbers nearly rivalling those of similar rallies held in Adelaide and Brisbane.
At the Brisbane event on Wednesday night, a crowd of ‘Yes’ supporters also turned up to protest, chanting and branding attendees as “racist.”
Senator Price told the cheering crowd of more than 1000 then that the country should never have been subjected to “such a divisive referendum.”
“Our Prime Minister should never have put us on this path in the first place,” she said.
“For some time, we as a nation have come under attack from those who want to believe that we’re made up of two kinds of people, that we are either oppressed, or we oppressors.
“We’re told we’re a terrible, racist country … these are absolute lies.”
Similar scenes were witnessed at Fair Australia’s Adelaide rally on September 18.
WA Police wouldn’t be drawn on their operational plans should there be protests at the Perth rally.
“Members of the community have the right to protest peacefully and lawfully, however, should any breaches of the law be identified, police will respond accordingly,” a police spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, a volunteer army of ‘Yes’ campaigners are expected to target Perth in the remaining days before the referendum.
More than 120 ‘Yes’ events are planned across the metropolitan area, including doorknocks, cold-calling, roadside sign-holding, and handing out flyers at major public transport locations.
Pre-poll voting opens in NSW, Queensland, the ACT and South Australia from Tuesday, due to public holidays in those states on Monday.