The referendum on an Aboriginal Voice to Parliament is approaching fast, and both sides of the debate are making their final appeals to the voting public to try and secure a victory at the polls on October 14.
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Rankins Springs farmer Jock Munro has made the case for a 'no' vote, concerned that a Voice could undermine the democratic process as well as potentially 'clogging up Parliament.'
"I'm really concerned because to me, a fundamental principle of our democracy is that we're all equal under the law and within Parliament. We all have an equal vote as individuals, so to have a constitutional amendment based on race is undemocratic and I think quite dangerous," he explained.
Mr Munro was especially worried about stoking further division, noting that the referendum has already sparked debate and division down Parliament and among Australians.
"I think it will open up a dangerous can of worms. I think privilege for one group of people - especially when it comes to Aboriginal politics, with compensation for past wrongs and that sort of thing - anything would be possible," he said.
"I have great fear that with something like this, the potential to do harm is huge ... If you give one group of people based on race a power that the rest of us don't have, you're not going to unite people. You're going to do the opposite."
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He expressed his disappointment in the 'Yes' campaign and critiqued Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for 'recklessness' in going forward with the referendum.
"I think the best way to promote racism is to talk about race. I think that's been the issue in this country, there's too much talk about it. We're all human beings at the end of the day, it shouldn't matter what colour we are or where we come from."
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Recent surveys show the 'no' campaign still ahead before, despite an indication of a slight late gain in support for the 'yes' vote in the past month.
According to a Resolve poll conducted for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, 56 per cent of respondents were against the Voice, while 44 per cent were in favour.
Mr Munro said that he was optimistic about the result, but would be waiting to find out on Sunday.
"I'm reasonably positive but I won't be comfortable until Sunday morning, I think people should have a good think about this. The polls look good, but polls can be wrong," he said.
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