What was claimed
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a speech that anyone who votes No in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum is racist.
Our verdict
False. There’s no record of the prime minister ever saying that No voters are racist.
It’s claimed that Albanese declared in a speech that anyone who votes No in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum is racist.
This is false. There is no record of any such statement by the prime minister. This Facebook post (archived here) makes the claim on June 9 as part of an 857-word tirade against the proposed Indigenous advisory body, which Australians will vote on later this year.
“PM Albanese in his speech said: ‘Anyone who votes no is racist,’ ” the post caption says. “How dare he insult the vast majority of Australia’s population.”
The heading of the post says “REASONS FOR THE NO VOICE VOTE SUCCEEDING”, and the full text has been shared by other users here and here who attribute it to “Writer Mal Crowley From Alice Springs”. However, the edit history of the original post shows that the text did not include the claim about the prime minister calling No voters racists when it first appeared online at 11.09am on July 9.
It was then shared in an anti-voice Facebook group where at 4.59pm another user commented: “Add to that … Albo’s words in his speech ‘Anyone who votes No is racist’ ! Disgusting!!” One minute later, that same user then edited the comment to add: “We all as Australians do not deserve his name calling!”
The original post was then edited at 7pm to add the claim about Albanese.
AAP FactCheck found no record of the prime minister saying that No voters were racist in any speech or other public comment. Albanese did criticise people making doomsday predictions about the Voice in his Lowitja O’Donoghue Oration at the University of Adelaide on May 29 2023.
“Australians won’t succumb to their appeals to fear and their even more ludicrous invitations to jump at our own shadows,” Albanese said in his speech. “That’s because Australians have a healthy scepticism of doomsayers, a scepticism kept in good health by memories of all the predictions offered by the Chicken Littles of the past.”
Earlier that day at a press conference, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton criticised the pre-released text of the prime minister’s speech: “The prime minister [is] out there name-calling people and others suggesting that people are racist because they don’t support the Voice. It’s completely and utterly unacceptable.”
On May 30, Albanese was asked about his speech during a radio interview in Adelaide.
“Prime minister, the Opposition Leader, Peter Dutton yesterday accused you of name-calling and suggesting that those who oppose the Voice are racist. Are people who don’t support the Voice to Parliament referendum racist?”
Albanese replied: “No, people will have a range of views and they’re entitled to it.”
Dutton didn’t accuse the prime minister of calling No voters “racist”. He accused Albanese of “name-calling” and said that “others [were] suggesting that people are racist because they don’t support the Voice”. Like the radio host, Facebook users appear to have mixed up Dutton’s comment.
Either way, Albanese dismissed the premise that he had said or thought that No voters were racist.
The verdict
The claim that Albanese said in a speech that anyone who votes No in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum is racist is false. There is no record of the prime minister saying that in any speech or any public statement.
False. The claim is inaccurate.
AAP FactCheck is an accredited member of the International Fact-Checking Network. To keep up with our latest fact checks, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
“… anyone who votes No in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum is racist” is false.
However, almost every racist will definitely vote No.
of course!
Good to have that cleared up. Meanwhile, one of the better contributions to the debate (such as it is) so far is ‘The Betoota Advocate’s Top 6 Reasons Why The Indigenous Voice Is A Bad Idea’. Nailed it.
here’s the link
https://www.betootaadvocate.com/headlines/the-betoota-advocates-top-5-reasons-why-the-indigenous-voice-is-a-bad-idea/
Thanks. The ModBot always intercepts all attempts I make to post a link, and has done for many years, but others have that privilege.
If our downvoter, who could not be bothered to post anything to clarify the reason behind those downvotes, has made their brave stand against our comments under the impression the Betoota Advocate’s piece is opposed to their views on the Voice, one has to wonder which side they are on.
Unfortunately, people inclined to believe the original claim don’t tend to read fact checks.
Having taken that (deliberate?) misunderstanding to heart with such alacrity : I wonder just how much “more information (re The Voice)” would open up the closed minds of those demanding that “more information”.
… Just ‘how much more’ would it take to persuade them that a Yes adoption would be in the greater interest?
It’s obvious that the bulk of those demanding more information are not asking so that they can decide where they stand. They have already decided to vote No. They only ask for more information so that
So there is no possibility of any amount of information shifting them. They are not interested in the Voice and what it might achieve. They are solely interested in winning the political scrap.
AAP fact check says The claim that Albanese said in a speech that anyone who votes No in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum is racist is false. There is no record of the prime minister saying that in any speech or any public statement.
It then summarises by saying the claim is inaccurate. Why would they water down assessment of what is a clear false claim by using the term inaccurate.
It is in fact a malicious lie. inaccurate Pfttt.
To go with all the other wantonly disingenuous detritus BS, strewn along their deliberately obfuscating, specious and fishy red-herring campaign trail.