From the rising cost of living to the spread of COVID, migrants have taken the blame for many crises in recent years. As reflection begins on the failure of the First Nations Voice to Parliament referendum, it has been disappointing – but given our history, not surprising – to see commentators once again take aim at migrant communities.
I’ve spent this week processing the results of the referendum and taking up the invitation from First Nations communities to engage in a time of silent reflection. First Nations communities have shown huge strength, grace and generosity through the journey towards the referendum on the Voice to Parliament, and I acknowledge this is a time of great sorrow for many.
It was disheartening then to see, in this same week, rhetoric emerge that linked the failure of the referendum with a lack of support from migrant communities.
Media used early polling figures to generalise about the support – or lack thereof – in culturally diverse areas. Other political commentators have made unsubstantiated claims that migrant communities had voted no at above-average rates because they felt “a bit left behind or second class”.
So what do the figures show? How did migrant communities vote?
Analysts from political intelligence provider GovConnex have indicated diverse communities were not the strongest supporters of the vote – but they weren’t the weakest either. They were largely on average.
Take a look at western Sydney – one of the most multicultural areas of our country. Despite being targeted by misinformation and ‘highly targeted social media campaigns’, the Centre for Western Sydney notes that support for the yes vote was in line with national averages.
In fact, above average levels of support for ‘Yes’ were recorded in half of the region’s electorates.
What is interesting though is that where the ‘no’ vote exceeded wider averages it was in areas of western Sydney that were targeted by particularly punitive COVID restrictions and the accompanying blame and ‘othering’ that went along with it.
Prominent ‘no’ campaigner Warren Mundine told Sky News the no campaign deliberately targeted migrant communities and credited this as a factor in helping to defeat the referendum.
He noted that “some of them come from countries where they were second-class citizens” and were open to a message about the Voice causing a divide.
In the lead up to the referendum, my organisation, SSI, had extensive reports from migrant and refugee communities that ranged from misinformation to outright lies. Refugees were told they’d be deported if they voted yes, migrants were told they’d have their visas cancelled.
I’m not insinuating this was part of the official no campaign tactics Mundine discussed, but the fact is there were actors playing on migrants’ and refugees’ trauma, fear of visa status and general uncertainty to sow division and mistrust in our communities.
Millions of Australians from all walks of life showed up in support of the Voice and meaningful recognition of First Nations people in the constitution. As we reflect on what has happened, my only hope is that this is not used as yet another opportunity to sow division and engage in ‘othering’ of our diverse communities.
Progress is not always linear. The path towards meaningful change is long and has many roadblocks, but I hope that the journey forward will be one of unity and healing.