This week, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) published pamphlets from the official ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ camps.
Independently written by each campaign without any oversight, editing or fact-checking from the AEC, doubts have been raised. Could they spread and encourage misinformation?
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Is this worth the cost of printing and delivering the 12 million paper copies? And how much value will they actually provide to the Australian people?
In this episode of Blak Matters, co-hosts Teela Reid & Michael “MC” Christian speak with George Williams AO, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Scientia Professor at UNSW, a specialist in constitutional law.
George gives the rundown on what you need to know about the Voice pamphlets that will be arriving in your letterbox over the next few weeks.
One of his concerns is that the pamphlets are not edited, or fact checked. This means both sides of the argument can print whatever they like – as long as it isn’t defamatory.
“There is zero fact-checking. It’s drafted by the politicians in Parliament who voted yes and no,” George explains.
“They’ve even warned politicians, to get your grammar right because if you misspell a word or get something wrong, it will appear in the pamphlet.
“It’s a direct line to the community at taxpayers’ expense and unless it’s defamatory or a national security issue or something along those lines, there is just no limit to what you can say.”
You can listen to all of George’s analyses on the yes and no camps’ pamphlets on this week’s episode of Blak Matters.
Blak Matters provides an inclusive, authentic exploration of First Nations issues from a First Nations perspective. Delivered as an honest but positive conversation between friends, MC & Teela Reid, in under 20 minutes. Listen now on the Listnr app.