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The row over the Voice to Parliament has triggered a tsunami of brutal racism across Australia, with a helpline flooded with calls since the debate began, Indigenous Australians have claimed.
The nation will vote in the Oct. 14 referendum, but indigenous and political leaders fear it has sparked a bitter division that will take years to resolve.
Wild taunts and insults have been aimed at indigenous organizations since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged to hold a public vote on the proposal.
“The toxic referendum debate has sparked a wave of racist vitriol both online and in real life,” said Channel 10 and NITV presenter Narelda Jacobs.
“It has become too personal, and for some, it feels like it has become an open hunt for racism.”
Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce also told NITV show The Point that the referendum had “inflamed things”.
“People get away with saying things that are completely inappropriate. This debate gave people the idea that they could safely say that now.
Indigenous TV presenter Narelda Jacobs said the Voice debate was “open season” for racists.
Community nurse Bec Thompson told the show she was abused in a remote country pub simply because she had an Aboriginal flag sticker on her car.
“A middle-aged, middle-class white lady with gray hair came up to me and said, ‘Colored people like you need to go back to the mission,’” she said.
“I think the debate around The Voice has made people feel like they have permission to come out and say it.
“I was happiest when she thought about it alone.”
Crisis helpline for First Nations Australians, 13Yarn, says it has been inundated with calls for mental health help due to rising racism.
“The additional stress caused by Voice is overwhelming this community,” said Marjorie Anderson, national director of the helpline, who said calls have increased 108 percent in the four months since the start of the crisis. campaign.
She said that as well as racist abuse, many Aboriginal Australians were being questioned by non-Indigenous people about The Voice, which added to the stress.
“Often, Indigenous people don’t know how to respond,” Ms. Anderson added.
“They don’t want to answer questions in case they are abused if the person has a different opinion than them.”
Reconciliation Australia’s Karen Mundine says her organization has been targeted by racist trolls calling out and abusing their staff.
The row over Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s voice in Parliament has triggered a tsunami of brutal racism across Australia, campaigners say.
“We’ve had more and more people feel like they can just call and say the most horrible things to staff who are just doing their job,” she said.
“They don’t even campaign. They’re just doing their job.
“And I think it’s really sad that this has sparked this kind of vitriol and hatred.”
Leading Yes campaigner Thomas Mayo has been the lightning rod for much of the abuse and recently revealed some of the abuse he faced.
In addition to racist memes depicting indigenous people as “crooks,” “wife beaters” and “primitives,” he also faced a series of personal threats, he said.
“People have been left off the leash,” he told the BBC.
The row comes as Yes campaigner Professor Marcia Langton called opponents of The Voice racist or stupid.
Thomas Mayo (right), the main Yes campaigner, was the lightning rod for much of the abuse.
Community nurse Bec Thompson told the show she was abused in a remote country pub simply because she had an Aboriginal flag sticker on her car.
Marjorie Anderson, of the crisis helpline for First Nations Australians, 13Yarn, says she has been inundated with calls for mental health help due to the rise in racism.
Nova Peris, an Indigenous Olympic gold medalist and former politician, says she has suffered from racism her whole life and faces it two or three times a week, even in Parliament.
“But you see it now: Social media gives people a platform to hide behind,” she said.
She joined Michael Long in the long march to Canberra for The Voice and still believes the country can come together in the wake of the Voice referendum.
“The reception we receive is 90 percent positive,” she insisted.
“It’s another thing to be able to hide behind social media or a phone rather than coming out and saying it to someone’s face.”
“It’s about uniting this country. This is an opportunity to make this country united.
“I said, when White Australia recognizes us, you don’t lose your 250 years of history. You win 65,000. This is not a division. It’s about unity.
Indigenous No campaigner Warren Mundine warned of rising racism in response to the referendum when voting day was confirmed last month.
Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce told NITV show The Point that the decision to hold the Voice referendum had “just inflamed things”.
“It’s about the division of this country and the racial abuse that we’ve heard about in recent months,” he said in August.
“Everyone knows the pressure that was put on me to send me into almost suicidal positions, and that is what this Prime Minister did.
“From day one, this Prime Minister attacked people who had an opinion different from his, by insulting them.
“And that paved the way for all the division to begin with with all the horrible racial abuse, with all the horrible bigotry that’s going on there — and it’s all Albo.”
“He’s the one who started this, he’s the one who brought it out and if he thinks the Voice is the answer to make everything right – this magic wand – then he’s not answering the real question. “
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting that Mr Mundine’s claims about Mr Albanese are true, only that he made them publicly at a public press event, broadcast live on television.
Warren Mundine says “all this bigotry” was the fault of the Prime Minister who “from day one attacked people who had a different opinion than him”
13Yarn’s Ms Anderson said change had to come from the top and blamed politicians for the problem.
“There is a certain level of racism in this country anyway,” she said.
“To see that politicians’ behavior allows other people to do so, they need to look in the mirror and think about what they are doing.
“And think about the impact they have on already traumatized communities.”
The Prime Minister’s Office noted that Linda Burney, the minister for Aboriginal Australia, had called for a respectful debate during a recent Question Time session in Parliament.
“The mental health and wellbeing of all Australians is a top priority for this government,” a spokesperson for the Prime Minister told Daily Mail Australia.
“The Albanian government announced $10.5 million to strengthen mental health support for First Nations people during the referendum campaign.
“This will promote wellbeing and provide additional mental health support to First Nations people, including in regional and remote areas.
“We encourage all Australians to engage in this referendum campaign in a respectful way. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for constitutional recognition.