The day Australians head to the polls to vote for the Voice to Parliament is almost here, but the weeks of campaigning have often turned ugly.
Both the Yes and No campaigns have been subject to the destruction of campaign signs, people harassing volunteer workers and other toxic behaviours.
Just last week a video shared on social media showed a man burning the Aboriginal flag and performing a Nazi salute. He directly referenced outspoken No campaigner and Indigenous federal Senator Lidia Thorpe who responded by saying: “People want to kill me out there.”
A few weeks earlier, the Yes campaign were responsible for sinking to new depths when campaigners hurled abuse at Liberal Senator Alex Antic. They called him a “racist pig” and a “racist dog” as he arrived for a No campaign event in Adelaide.
As the clock ticks down to the referendum result, disgusting acts continue to emerge.
Locals in the Sydney suburb of Mosman are furious after an Aboriginal flag was defaced and hung up on display above a main road.
The letter N was painted next to the yellow circle in the flag to create the word No.
“This is taking it too far. Extremely saddened to see this on Military Road in Mosman today. No flag should be defaced like this,” one woman wrote on the local community Facebook page.
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In a YouTube video, two young pranksters purposely went to Yes voters’ houses with a No sign and tried to convince them to leave their sign in their front yards.
Wearing high-vis vests, one of them approached a house and told the resident that they might “have the wrong sign up”.
“Do you want me to replace it for free?” he asked.
The elderly resident told him that he had already voted: “I’ve already voted yes.”
They received a bigger reaction from another woman who told them that they would call the police for trespassing if they didn’t leave.
“Get out! Get out! F**k off! Please go!” the female resident shouted.
Earlier this week, footage of an Australian Electoral Commission volunteer being harassed outside an early voting centre by a pair of No voters surfaced online.
The pair were canvassing for the No campaign in Victoria and were filmed harassing a volunteer, after they had reportedly reminded them that they couldn’t campaign too close to the door of polling centres.
According to the AEC’s website, people aren’t allowed to canvas for votes or attempt to get to the door of polling centres. This rule is in place for all voting in Australia.
Last month a Yes advocate was the target of an angry, expletive-ridden tirade.
The advocate had been quietly handing out leaflets outside a shopping mall in Melbourne when they were approached and verbally harassed by a man who goes by Brad CC on social media.
“This f**wit. Don’t listen to this guy, he is a f***ing sellout, f*** off idiot. I am going to stay here until you go away.”
In late September, a Yes supporter was filmed spitting on a man during a heated argument at a Voice stall.