CPAC conference: Liberal MPs condemn Gary Johns’ ‘revolting’ commentary about Indigenous people

Liberal MPs have condemned “abhorrent” and “revolting” commentary about Indigenous people aired at no campaign leader Warren Mundine’s CPAC conference, as pressure mounts on fellow anti-voice spokesperson Gary Johns.

Bridget Archer and Andrew Bragg, as well as the federal Nationals leader, David Littleproud, were critical of Johns – the president of the anti-voice group Recognise A Better Way – who claimed some people in Indigenous communities lived in a “stupor” and recommended they “learn English”.

Archer and Bragg, among the few Liberals to publicly support the voice, condemned Johns’ speech at the CPAC conference on Sunday.

“I find the comments abhorrent and they have no place in a respectful society,” Archer told Guardian Australia.

“Freedom of speech should always be balanced with responsibility not to do harm to others. We ought to be able to have a debate about the voice without resorting to this kind of nasty, divisive commentary.”

Bragg, a senator from New South Wales and a longtime voice supporter, said “some of the comments are absolutely revolting and ridiculous”.

“I worry the key lessons of the 20th century are already being lost. Anyone familiar with the history of genocide knows how dangerous language can be,” he told Guardian Australia.

In Johns’ speech, he said: “If you’re not trying to get those people either out of that remote community or out of the stupor in which they live, or give them the tools to allow them adapt to life in the modern world, the world we inherited, then you’re doing wrong.

“Being practical is not the answer. You have to do practical things in the name of integration.”

Johns then claimed to quote no campaign leader Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s father.

“As Dave Price, Jacinta’s dad, has said to me often enough, ‘If you want a voice, learn English. That’s your voice’,” Johns said.

The CPAC conference, of which Mundine is chairman, was dominated by criticism of the Indigenous voice referendum. Mundine and Price, the leaders of the Fair Australia campaign from conservative political group Advance, were the headline speakers of the two-day conference. Other speakers included sitting Coalition MPs Barnaby Joyce, Bridget McKenzie, Keith Pitt, Alex Antic and Ted O’Brien, as well as the former prime minister Tony Abbott, the former Liberal MP Bronwyn Bishop and the former Nationals leader John Anderson.

Mundine founded the Recognise A Better Way organisation, one of several groups opposing the referendum. Johns, the former Labor minister, is now president of that organisation.

Johns, Recognise A Better Way and CPAC Australia were contacted for comment.

On Monday, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the NSW Liberal MP Matt Kean condemned Johns’ speech.

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Littleproud said Johns’ comments were “not appropriate”. In an interview on Radio National, he said: “The National party would call it out, as I’ve called out others before, but I think this is a big lesson for both the yes and no. There’s been commentary and name calling from both sides.

“If [Johns] was in the National party, there’d be very serious conversations with him today. That’s all I control.”

Littleproud was also critical of comedian Rodney Marks’ speech at CPAC, which referred to traditional owners as “violent black men” and called the Indigenous leader Bennelong a “woman-basher”. CPAC Australia’s Twitter account defended the remarks as a “comedy skit”.

In a tweet on Monday, alongside a screenshot of Guardian Australia’s coverage of the event, CPAC Australia wrote: “Doing irony well is not a characteristic we see in our little left wing rag.”

Asked if Nationals MPs on the lineup should denounce the language at the conference, Littleproud replied: “I think everybody does. I don’t think that’s acceptable.

“I see CPAC is trying to say that it was a comedy act that was misinterpreted because he was from overseas. I don’t think that cuts mustard from my perspective … It’s inappropriate and it’s up to CPAC and the organisers of that to work through that.”

In an interview on ABC Brisbane, the Yes23 director, Dean Parkin, said the no campaign should consider Johns’ position, calling him “out of line”.

“I think there are some genuine questions that the formal no camp do need to answer with respect to Gary Johns’ ongoing role in the campaign. Because the comments that he’s made over the weekend have no place in a modern Australia in 2023.”