‘Totally out of touch’: Warren Mundine slams Marcia Langton for claiming Voice to Parliament criticism ‘based in racism’

Indigenous activist and Voice to Parliament No campaigner Warren Mundine has hit back at claims criticism of the constitutional reform is “based in racism”.

Voice architect and top Yes campaigner Marcia Langton made the claim at a forum in Bunbury on Sunday, telling the audience “every time the No cases raise their arguments, if you start pulling it apart you get down to base racism… or sheer stupidity”.

When asked about the issue on Tuesday night, Mr Mundine said the comments highlighted how the Yes campaign is “totally out of touch” with the Australian people.

“They come out and get all these corporates involved, all the Archbishops, all these religious heads in it, and they’ve got all the sporting bodies and everything like that, and they just look down their nose at you,” Mr Mundine told Peta Credlin.

“And they just think that ordinary Australians out there people – like you and me and other people – that we’re some sort of Cretans, and we’re just horrible, horrible people, a bunch of racists, the country is racist. That’s what they think about us.

“And so I wasn’t surprised by her comments today. It’s typical of what she’s been saying and also Noel Pearson has been saying, up until recently, all through this campaign.”

Mr Mundine said he was not surprised the comments had come from Indigenous activists like Marcia Langton, but he is surprised at “how widespread” it is in the Yes campaign.

“The Yes campaign people are always talking about niceties and ‘we’re nice people’ and ‘we’re anti-racist’,” he said.

“You know, the number of times I’ve been abused by a #AntiRacist with racist terms is unbelievable.”

Support for the Voice continues to decline, with the latest Resolve Strategic poll – published on Monday – showing just 43 per cent of Australians support the Voice while 57 per cent are opposed.

The Resolve poll also showed Tasmania is the only state where a majority of voters plan to support the constitutional reform, far below the four states required – in addition to an overall majority – for the referendum to succeed.

Mr Mundine said Australians were “seeing this campaign for what it is”.

“It is an elite campaign. It is about people from the inner city areas. It’s about these people who look down on the western suburbs of Melbourne and Sydney, and the bush,” he said.

“And they think that they’re the fount of all knowledge, and that when they talk we also just bow down.”