OPINION
One major reason that the Republic referendum sunk ignominiously in 1999 was the overriding perception that it was all by and for the elite. The sight of a clique of hand-picked politicians and activists whooping it up in Canberra, at the aptly named “Con-con”, was just the start. As one No voter remarked, they looked at who was promoting each case: on the “Yes” side were politicians, big business, sports stars, celebrities, and activists. The “No” side were people like you and me, as often as not making their case via a barbecue at the local community hall.
When Tony Abbott warned that the Republic model on offer was asking Australians to trust politicians, the jibe cut through like a knife.
The Voice campaigners have learned nothing from ‘99.
Once again, they’re parading a glittering lineup of celebrities, corporate bosses, and wealthy politicians like Malcolm Turnbull, and Linda Burney dripping in Gucci and pearls. Voters, especially young voters, are noticing.
While it’s always dangerous to extrapolate too much from social media, certain platforms can give some insight into the demographic they skew to: Facebook is mostly used by older people, while Twitter heavily skews to left-wing political obsessives. Reddit, on the other hand, skews very heavily to the young, with an even balance of male and female users.
With the average age of a Reddit user estimated at 23, it’s no surprise that political discussions often lean towards green-left perspectives. Nevertheless, recent discussions about the upcoming voice referendum have revealed a surprising mix of viewpoints within this demographic.
And what is intriguing is the number of individuals expressing a No stance for reasons that do not neatly align with traditional or conservative ideals.
These are not the “boomer racists” the Yes campaign has been sneering about. These are younger Australians, who’ve emerged into adulthood in the midst of a pandemic, which has led to an acute cost-of-living crisis. All their school lives they were bombarded with “Magic Aborigine” propaganda.
While they’re the last demographic to show a majority inclination to vote Yes on the voice, even that majority grows more slender by the day. If these Reddit users are any indication, it’s because they’re not buying the elite Yes campaign.
“What a waste of time and money. Voting NO on this nonsense. Imagine if they put $364m into social services in Alice Springs,” wrote one commenter in r/AusFinance, a subreddit of nearly half a million members engaged in discussions about financial issues in Australia.
“Weird how every corporation is pushing yes. Drove past a rich area with no Aboriginal people and every second house has a yes sign nailed to their gate,” wrote another […]
“I’m a leftist Aboriginal, and I have a lot of issues with this,” wrote one commenter in r/Australia, a forum of 1.4 million members, “Stop dividing us. We are one country.”
And you better bet they notice that this is an issue that is being exclusively driven by the “One per cent”.
When figures such as Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull take selfies with Allegra Spender and Tanya Plibersek in support of the Yes campaign, it sends a message to ordinary Australians that, regardless of party lines, they belong to the same economic club.
That club is the urban, professional, asset-owning club that is very comfortable and cosy on the inside but, for those standing on the outside looking in, appears smug, self-congratulatory and exclusive.
The disconnect between the harsh reality of the cost of living crisis and the ivory tower obsessions of the Yes elite is glaringly obvious. PM Anthony Albanese might as well swoop his taxpayer-funded Airbus over a homeless tent city under a bridge in any Australian city and witter, “Let them eat the Voice”.
“More than 1600 people are becoming homeless each month in Australia,” wrote another. “Imagine being one of those people … And then remember you voted for (Prime Minister Anthony Albanese) based on his campaigning around the little guy and him being in social housing … And all he has done is harp on about the voice” […]
Much of the conversation in these popular online forums has focused on the perceived disjuncture of hosting a referendum during a cost-of-living crisis. “This won’t get over the line,” wrote a user. “The timing of it is so shockingly bad. People can’t afford to buy groceries or find suitable places to live, but this is top of mind for the government?”
Left-leaning No voters do not appear to oppose the voice because they are diehard constitutional conservatives, or because they lack compassion. It’s not about being racist either. Their frustration stems from the perception that the Labor government is not adequately addressing the issues that matter to them most, and is instead focusing on the higher-order matter of constitutional change.
And when the Yes elite bang on about “closing the gap”, younger Australians are seeing a yawning void, all right — but it’s not the one the wealthy Yes campaigners think they see.
And if there is one overarching theme that emerges from these discussions, it is that there is a divide in Australia, but it is defined by class and asset ownership – not race […]
This week, for example, a three-bedroom house situated on less than a quarter-acre of land within Spender’s (formerly Turnbull’s) electorate sold for $7.8m. To put that in perspective, the average pre-tax salary in Australia stands at $90,800. That means a modest dwelling on a small plot of land just sold for 85 times the national average wage.
In the context of promoting “social justice”, it is fair to ask what these politicians have done to address land availability and housing supply […]
The fact that corporate Australia is overwhelmingly in support of the voice simply furthers the perception that it is primarily a concern of elites.
“I won’t be swayed either by bullshit corporate activism endorsing a Yes vote by Qantas, Coles, the AFL, or any number of billion-dollar companies that couldn’t give a rat’s arse about everyday Aussies, Indigenous Aussies included,” wrote one commenter in r/Australia.
This is yet another reason why the voice referendum will be a referendum on the Albanese government, too. This is a government which, like all modern left parties, has stopped even pretending to give a shit about the working classes. The over-educated, wealthy, inner-urban professional class that makes up the green-left not only do not care about the blue-collar class, they hate them. Not least, perhaps, because they secretly envy the people who still make useful things, while their own university-elite are essentially useless parasites.
So, they sneer at “deplorables” and push their own, ivory tower obsessions for all they’re worth.
“The number one issue in our country at the moment is housing and the cost of living,” as one commenter put it. “The government is out of touch.”
The Australian