The Editor’s Desk | Opinion Troy Dodds

troy.dodds@westernweekender.com.au @troydodds

If you thought the ‘quiet Australians’ who helped Scott Morrison to his miracle 2019 election win were swept away by Anthony Albanese last year, think again.

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They remain out there, perhaps quieter than ever, but could end up being the deciding factor in The Voice referendum later this year.

Let me say from the outset that I support constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

I can’t really say whether The Voice in its current form is the best way to do that, but it may well be – like many of you, this will be the subject of much conversation and thought in the coming months.

But regardless of your support for The Voice or not, there is a real challenge here for those pushing the ‘yes’ campaign, and it comes down to just how hard that push is.

A referendum on an issue such as this is much like an election campaign.

You have those that are in the ‘yes’ camp and will not be moved – and let’s be honest, most of the people in that camp are younger, and sit on the left side of politics.

Then there’s those firmly in the ‘no’ camp who not even the strongest of advertising campaigns is likely to shift – this time, mostly older demographics who sit on the more conservative side of politics.

And then you have the golden middle –those who really decide these things.

They are the 20-odd per cent who either don’t know, don’t care or are legitimately weighing up the pros and cons of such a change.

And many of them are indeed the ‘quiet Australians’ that helped Morrison to that 2019 election victory against all odds.

Quiet because they feel that even expressing a concern over The Voice would leave them being labelled racist or ignorant.

And quiet because they can, in some instances, feel like the push to vote yes is being forced upon them; and that they’re clearly in the wrong should they vote no.

I’ve always had mixed feelings on major sporting codes backing a particular horse in societal issues such as this one.

I understand the power such codes have to send a message, but you don’t speak for your supporter base and its rather presumptuous to suggest you do.

Who did the NRL, for example, ask before it threw its support behind the ‘yes’ campaign? Did it ask its season ticket holders, members, sponsors and clubs – or did it just push ahead because it was the “right thing to do”.

This is a code that can’t dare bring itself to acknowledge Australia Day on January 26, presumably because they might offend someone for noting a gazetted public holiday, but is happy to attach itself to an issue as large as The Voice.

It’s intriguing, and I often ponder if it ever moves the dial.

Does a footy fan, for example, who was in the middle previously shift their view because a code they love backs the cause, or does it have the opposite impact and there’s a rebellion of sorts?

And then there’s celebrity involvement in the ‘yes’ campaign, which could prove another nail in its coffin.

Celebrity endorsements are not what they used to be; in fact if nothing else people have become sick of high profile celebs with far more blessed lives than them telling them how they should think or feel on a particular subject.

Which is why The Voice’s yes campaign needs to be careful in its attachment to celebrities.

Last year, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recruited former NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal to help “mobilise support” to engage young people in the referendum conversation.

It felt weird and desperate.

Earlier this year, media reports suggested Albanese was thinking closer to home with his next batch of celebrities, with the likes of Ash Barty, Cathy Freeman and Buddy Franklin set to be recruited to help sell the ‘yes’ campaign.

It may well help, but it could backfire too, hence the difficult line ‘yes’ campaigners must walk.

It’s much easier to push the ‘no’ campaign. In fact, you don’t really have to push at all. You just hope the ‘yes’ campaign pushes the wrong buttons and the middle decides it’s best to just stick with the status quo.

The ‘yes’ campaign approach must embrace those who are voting no, or at least considering voting no.

They can’t just cast them aside as being “wrong” or on the incorrect side of history.

They certainly can’t brand them racist or ignorant.

The fight must be about facts.

About why recognition of First Australians in the constitution is so important.

About why The Voice is the best way to do that.

And about what will and what won’t change if the ‘yes’ vote wins.

It should address legitimate concerns and worries, not make people feel wrong for daring to question what is being presented.

Having sporting codes scream it from the rooftops, or a celebrity pushing the cause like it’s a new brand of breakfast cereal they’re promoting, is not going to win over the middle.

Making the middle feel like they’re part of the conversation, and acknowledging that it’s not a “vote yes or you’re stupid” moment in our history, is an important step to The Voice getting up.