Controversial comments made at a no campaign against the voice event “reinforce racist stereotypes and inflict harm”, says the race discrimination commissioner, who has joined a wave of criticism prompted by the meeting.
At a leading no campaign event in Tamworth on Friday, no organisation leader Gary Johns suggested that “intermarrying” between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people was proof reconciliation had been achieved.
The comments have been widely condemned, including by the yes referendum campaign, the Albanese government and Gomeroi traditional owners, who say they fear more “divisive and racist” meetings after Friday’s event.
The One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, local Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce, former broadcaster Alan Jones and Johns, a former Labor minister, appeared at the event hosted by Recognise a Better Way, a leading group organising the no campaign led by the Indigenous businessman Nyunggai Warren Mundine, Johns and former Nationals leader John Anderson. Mundine and Anderson did not attend.
Speakers raised concerns about the amount of information about the voice and claimed that an Indigenous advisory body would create an unequal state similar to South Africa under apartheid.
Johns spoke at length about “integration”, claiming rates of marriage between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians were such that “there will come a time in Australia when we are all Aboriginal”.
The national race discrimination commissioner, Chin Tan, said he was “deeply concerned” about statements at the forum that he described as “demeaning and based on misinformation”.
“Such comments can reinforce racist stereotypes and inflict harm,” he said. “Whatever one’s views about the proposed voice, discussions should centre the perspectives and experiences of First Nations peoples, who continue to experience racism and marginalisation.”
Dean Parkin, the yes campaign director and a Quandamooka man of Minjerribah, said Johns’ comments have “no place in our country”.
“Is this what the no case mean when they say Recognise a Better Way? If not, the leaders of the no case should clearly reject them. Silence is not an option,” he told Guardian Australia.
“Our experience is that Australians see this referendum as an opportunity bring the nation together to recognise Indigenous people through a voice. They want unity and respect, not division and nastiness.”
The federal cabinet minister Murray Watt also criticised Johns, saying he “continues to make outdated, disgraceful and misleading comments aimed at dividing Australians”.
“Gary Johns, Barnaby Joyce, Pauline Hanson are all part of a no coalition that is stuck in the past and have no plan for the future.”
In response to a request for comment on the criticisms, Johns reiterated his earlier statements, saying that the intermarriage of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people was very high and a “clear sign that we get on”. He also said that the number of people claiming Indigenous heritage would continue to rise.
Mundine, Recognise a Better Way and the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, were contacted for comment.
Joyce said he would not comment on what others had said, but his appearance at the event was to “stop race distinctions being entrenched in the constitution”.
“I don’t think anything I said was anything but respectful towards my local Indigenous communities, and Indigenous Australians more broadly,” he said.
He claimed that the referendum would lead to “differentiation of rights based on race”.
“Quite obviously if someone gets more rights because of their race, then someone else is gets less rights because of the colour of the skin, or their race.”
Rachael Phillips, a Gomeroi woman who has lived in Tamworth since she was a toddler, said the meeting shocked her and was not representative of the town she knew.
Phillips attended briefly but did not stay for the whole event, saying she felt uncomfortable with the language and ideas expressed by the speakers. She was afraid that as the referendum drew closer it could spark more division.
“They’ve started off in a little country town. What’s it going to be like when they get to the cities?”
She was concerned about the impact of divisive rhetoric on her children.
“I want them to be safe and I want them to feel like they matter. So when making the vote, I just think we need to think about what’s going to be best for our future going in. They’re the ones who are going to have to live through this vote,” she said, adding that the referendum would be decided by the Australian public, not First Nations people.
Amy Hammond, a Gomeroi yinarr – or woman – did not go inside the town hall but listened to a live stream outside the event with other local Indigenous people opposing the event.
“I’m extremely worried about other events that they’re going to be holding around the country. It’s scary, the racism that they’re inciting,” she said.
“It wasn’t safe. It was not safe for our children to be there. It wasn’t a safe place for Aboriginal people to be in attendance.”
She said she and others who had shared their views had received a groundswell of support from across the town, from both the Aboriginal and wider community.
Work is now under way to have another community event to highlight the different perspectives on the voice referendum, she said.
