OPINION
They really can’t help themselves, can they? Every time the left warn us that the latest culture war they’ve ignited will cause division and hate, what they leave out is that it’s them bringing it.
And every time they blatherskite about “love”, what they really mean is that they’ll be bellowing hate at the top of their lungs at anyone who disagrees with them. For weeks, Noel Pearson has insisted that the Yes campaign are going to “love” Australians in to changing their minds.
Three guesses what’s really happening.
Loud protesters camped outside of the Fair Australia rally in Adelaide – headlined by leading No campaigners senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Warren Mundine […]
In a video captured by South Australian senator Alex Antic, the protesters can be heard shouting expletive-ridden phrases, calling out at the campaigners walking into the rally “f*** you you racist dog, racist pig” and “wankers”.
In response, Senator Antic thanked the Labor government for “the unity”.
Contrast this sort of typical leftist behaviour to the Yes rallies over the weekend: did anyone from No show up, screaming abuse at them? Of course not.
Liberal MP Tony Pasin has called on the government to denounce the “abusive” behaviour of protestors who disrupted last night’s anti-voice rally in Adelaide.
“What I want to see is prominent Yes campaigners in Australia, in South Australia, the Prime Minister, Minster Linda Burney, (Senator) Penny Wong, (South Australian Premier) Peter Malinauskas… I want these people to call these protestors out and say this behavior is unacceptable,” Mr Pasin said.
“We’ve got to have a respectful debate and that wasn’t respectful, in fact it was (intimidating) and bordering on assault.”
Don’t hold your breath, mate. They couldn’t even bring themselves to denounce Marcia Langton for branding the No campaign “racist” and “stupid”.
Meanwhile, inside the No rally, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price pointed out that Aboriginal Australians already have a Voice — their MPs, in Parliament. The only thing is that the same people demanding a Constitutional amendment aren’t even listening to them, anyway.
In an emotional speech, Senator Price broke down in tears when she spoke of her role as a “vessel” for Indigenous people who she said had been ignored by mainstream politics and media.
“I was a vessel for the women sitting in that room, the cousin of a young girl murdered, hanging from a tree,” she said, referencing her address at the National Press Club last week.
“They are the voices the media ignores, they are the voices Labor ignore, they are the voices the Greens ignore, they are the voters the Teals ignore.
“And they are the voices this bloody Voice to Parliament will ignore.”
The Australian
For all the tanties, screeching, and name-calling from the Yes camp, the momentum is clearly not going their way. Even The Guardian and pollsters Essential Media are admitting it.
After two punishing weeks of partisan contention, the latest poll of 1,135 respondents has no voters in the majority (51%) for the first time in the Guardian Essential survey, with 41% intending to vote yes and 9% on the fence.
Essential, it might be pointed out, were the last pollsters holding out in hope of a Yes majority. When all other polls were showing a calamitous collapse in support, Essential tried bravely to insist that Yes was holding steady.
Even worse, they’re now admitting, the No vote is hardening far more than Yes.
Significantly more respondents (42%) report being a “hard” no than a “hard” yes (28%). A further 8% are a “soft” no and 12% a “soft” yes, with 9% undecided.
Historically in Australian referendums, “undecided” almost always tilts to “No” at the ballot box.
The trend over the past couple of months suggests the yes campaign is going backwards.
The loss of support is cumulative. Back in July, yes voters outnumbered no (47% to 43%). In August, that flipped – no was ahead of yes 47% to 43%. By the beginning of September, 48% of respondents said they intended to vote no and 42% yes, with 10% unsure. The latest shift puts no voters in the majority, and it represents a three point negative movement in a fortnight.
The Essential poll also uncovers some intriguing data.
The lack of bipartisanship also makes the voice proposal more polarising in the community. Around a quarter of respondents (26%) report having had disagreements with others about whether to vote yes or no.
The new poll indicates Australian women (who outnumber men in the “hard” yes column) are having more conversations about the voice to parliament than men (who outnumber women in the “hard” no column).
Women also report having more disagreements than men. Voters under the age of 34 also report having more disagreements about the voice than older voting cohorts (34% of 18 to 34-year-olds report having arguments compared to 28% of 35 to 54-year-olds and 19% of people aged over 55).
Poll respondents identifying themselves as Coalition voters report having more conversations about the voice than Labor supporters (65% to 56%) and Labor voters report having higher numbers of arguments (30% to 25%).
The Guardian
Put bluntly, then: young, female leftists are shouting at other people for not agreeing with them, while older centre-right voters are talking the issue over and concluding that it’s a “No”.
So, business as usual, then.