voice to parliament referendum

Not many people would find John Farnham’s You’re The Voice a difficult song to understand. Borrowing from the chorus for a moment, it makes a noise and makes it clear: we all have a role to play in civil society. From its opening line, it’s an imperviously optimistic appeal to human nature’s better angels: “We have the chance to turn the pages over”.

Most people, fortunately, are not a desperate politician on the hustings. Responding to Farnham’s endorsement of a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous voice to parliament – and his offering of You’re The Voice to the yes campaign – the opposition leader, Peter Dutton’s take on the song was obtuse, to say the least.

“The key line in the lyrics there, ‘You’re the voice, try and understand it,’” he told Sky News. “I honestly don’t think most Australians understand it and they want to be informed.” Apart from Dutton’s apparent unwillingness to educate himself (much less inform anyone else), attempting to sow further confusion out of such an obvious song is breathtakingly cynical.

The use of You’re The Voice by the yes campaign, and the timing of Farnham’s intervention, is pivotal. The no side has been successful so far in capitalising on uncertainty with its own appeal to ignorance, via its “If you don’t know, vote no” messaging.… Read more..