Ms Thorpe, who hails from Jabwurrung, Gunnai and Gunditjmara, says Australia's First Peoples «see correctly» through' proposal Photo: Sam Mooy/Getty Images
Insisting that all Aboriginal people support a vote to give them more power is «ignorant and racist», a leading Indigenous campaigner has said.
Lydia Thorpe Victoria's first Indigenous senator told The Telegraph she believes the Yes campaign is wrongly suggesting that all No voters are racist in an increasingly controversial poll.
The ruling Labor government is on course for a crushing referendum defeat. , which asks Australians whether Aboriginal people should be consulted on major political issues: a policy known as «Voice.»
Ms Thorpe said of the divisive campaign: «The Labor Party is just pointing to the campaign “no racist” and says: “You don’t want to be on her side.”
“I think it's part of the ignorance. and the racism that comes out in this whole discussion is that the First Men can't say no because they automatically fall into this «racist no» category. That in itself is racist.»
The Labor Party's policy will result in the first mention of Australia's indigenous population in the constitution and aims to create a permanent body that will be consulted on issues affecting Aboriginal people.
p>Australia «Voice» 039; referendum
Activists associated with the Labor Party's «Yes» campaign have accused the «No» campaign of «racist tactics» in the national debate called «Brexit Australia».
Although roughly two-thirds of Australians supported the policy, according to recent polls , at the start of the year, only 36 per cent of people intend to vote yes, while 56 per cent support no.
Ms Thorpe said part of the drop was due to Aboriginal and other indigenous groups Torres Strait Islander countries 'see right through' Voice proposal as 'it has no force'.
“I feel in my heart that more and more First Nations people in this country are moving away from the Yes campaign,” she said. “Surely there is nothing to worry about – a powerless voice that can advise parliament? This is a real kick in the teeth when it comes to everything our people have been struggling with for over 250 years.”
The debate over the referendum has become so emotional that one Indigenous activist has called it a “Brexit moment”.
The answer is «Yes» Campaign poster altered with graffiti expressing dissent. Photo: James D. Morgan/Getty Images
For supporters, the move is a long overdue step towards addressing a largely ignored colonial history known as the Great Australian Silence. They also argue it would help address the huge inequalities that persist among Indigenous people, including a homelessness rate nine times higher than that of non-Indigenous people, incarceration rates 14 times higher, and life expectancy about 10 years shorter.
< p>The «No» campaign, led by the conservative opposition, argues it will create more bureaucracy, insert «racial privilege» into the Constitution and make victims of Indigenous people.
Another vocal group of «progressive no» advocates «, including Ms Thorpe, argues that The Voice does not go far enough.
Ms Thorpe, a descendant of the Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung peoples, grew up on a council estate in Melbourne. Now 50, her path to the Senate was unconventional: She gave birth to her first child at 17, later escaped domestic violence and was declared bankrupt in 2013.
But in 2017, she made her debut in national politics as a Greens MP in Melbourne and three years later became Victoria's first Aboriginal senator. She quit the Greens in February, partly because of their support for the Voice.
She called for the referendum to be scrapped, warning of debate over a «powerless» advisory body that is not really needed to solve problems. problems have «torn [Indigenous] families and communities apart.»
People take part in the 'March for Yes' Rally in Sydney on September 17 Photo: Andrew Leeson/AFP
Ms Thorpe is also concerned that a Vote vote will undermine efforts to negotiate a treaty with Aboriginal people.
As it stands, Australia is the only Commonwealth country that has not signed a single treaty with its Indigenous people. . Supporters say the Voice is a step closer to correcting this situation, building on the 1967 referendum (which included indigenous people in the census) and the 1992 Mabo High Court decision (which overturned the idea that the country is «a land belonging to no one» when the British came).
However, according to Ms Thorpe, contracts must come first. “We need a treaty to unite this country. And through the treaty, you then negotiate what constitutional recognition looks like. You don't rush into the Constitution and then try to work out an agreement later. This makes no sense.”
This is a topic she would like to discuss with King Charles, although her letters requesting dialogue with the monarch have so far remained unheeded.
“I also wrote to his naughty son, hoping that perhaps his little activity would make him write a letter. But no reaction,” she said. “I would like to respectfully speak to the king of your country about the way forward.”
But now she hopes the country will vote “no” on October 14.
“Without result, a First Nations revolution will begin across the country to continue the legacy of our people who called for truth and treaty,” she said. “And this is the revolution we need to unite this country and become a mature nation.”
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