00:00 Warren Mundine is no stranger to this debate.
00:04 He has been heard quite a lot throughout the campaign about the Indigenous voice to Parliament
00:11 referendum.
00:12 But his particular words today have stoked quite a bit of debate here in the nation's
00:17 capital and right around the country, likening the Uluru Statement to a declaration of war.
00:23 He says that the Uluru Statement, and it's the flow-on effect from that, because of course
00:29 the Uluru Statement from the heart was the document which contained this call for an
00:34 Indigenous voice to Parliament to be enshrined in the Constitution.
00:38 That was back in 2017.
00:40 He says that if you look behind it, look at everything that relates to the Uluru Statement
00:45 from the heart, that it is based in ongoing anger from the Indigenous community, that
00:50 it is putting them and framing the situation facing First Nations as one of ongoing victimhood
00:58 and oppression, and that as a result it is further entrenching a class system in Australia,
01:05 an us versus them dynamic that the Indigenous voice to Parliament as an advisory body to
01:11 the federal government will only further exacerbate.
01:15 His language was very pointed, not overly surprising, but certainly taking a slightly
01:20 different tact as he approached and addressed the National Press Club here in Canberra.
01:26 Here's his exact phrasing when it came to that document.
01:31 What we describe as a symbolic declaration of war against modern Australia.
01:40 The canvas is a glossy marketing brochure for the misappropriation of culture, a misrepresentation
01:47 of history, and for a radical and divisive vision of Australia.
01:53 All done in the name of Indigenous Australians, but working against us.
02:00 Warren Mundine speaking at the National Press Club.
02:02 Quick out of the blocks to respond to it was the co-chair of the Uluru Dialogue, Professor
02:07 Megan Davis.
02:08 She is of course one of the most vocal and prominent yes campaigners in this debate.
02:13 And she said any suggestion that the Uluru Statement from the heart and flowing on from
02:18 that the Indigenous voice to Parliament should be seen as anything aggressive or like that
02:24 from the Indigenous population was very disappointing.
02:28 She said it was quite the opposite.
02:32 What our people wanted was peace, a coming together of the nation.
02:38 And that is what the Uluru Statement is.
02:41 And it's very disappointing that it's being regarded as some sort of aggressive and angry
02:47 display or declaration of war upon modern Australia.
02:55 Our people contributed to the development and the flourishing of a modern Australia.
03:00 Megan Davis there.
03:02 And Matthew, what are some of the other issues that Mr Mundine spoke about?
03:06 We did reiterate a number of arguments that we have heard at length throughout this referendum
03:11 campaign.
03:13 He took another swipe at the corporate sector, saying that if big companies across Australia
03:18 that are supporting the voice to Parliament put as much emphasis and as much effort into
03:23 tackling specific issues pertinent to Indigenous populations, such as violence in Indigenous
03:30 communities, then that would be a better use of their time and energy and resources.
03:35 He also made a couple of claims about what the Prime Minister says in this space, taking
03:41 issue with Anthony Albanese's repeated comments that 80% of Indigenous Australians support
03:47 the Indigenous voice to Parliament.
03:49 He said that the ABC's own fact checkers had found that that was not correct.
03:54 That in and of itself is not correct.
03:56 The fact checking that was done is a lot more nuanced than that.
04:00 So let's put that on the record there.
04:03 But Warren Mundine saying that this is a proposal that would only further entrench another layer
04:09 of bureaucracy in Australia's government and that what Indigenous Australians need to improve
04:14 their lives is action rather than another layer of government telling them what to do.
04:19 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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