‘I don’t think it’s a good idea and if it were put up in a referendum it would go down in flames. I do not believe it will succeed. I don’t believe that what would in effect be a third chamber of parliament available only to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is consistent with our constitution.’ It is not often that this magazine feels inspired to quote the words of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, but on this occasion we must. His comments on the ABC’s Q&A show dismissing the proposed indigenous Voice to parliament were as accurate and correct back in 2017 when he made them as his comments this week now in support of that very same Voice were trite, hypocritical, illogical and ludicrous.

Yet in some ways it is reassuring that Mr Turnbull has now come out unequivocally in favour of the Voice, for if history is any lesson to go by this pretty much guarantees that the Voice will fail. One of the most tin-eared politicians in Australian history, Mr Turnbull has spent most of his career on the wrong side of any given issue, and indeed, his own term in office was the result not of the popular will of the people but of his own vanity and political narcissism and the treacherous behaviour of certain colleagues. Nothing to be proud of there.

It is no coincidence that his conversion to the Voice comes at the same time as his signature climate policy, laughably known as ‘Snowy 2.0’, is yet again forced to announce cost blowouts on an unprecedented scale – some $12 billion and counting; a sextupling of the original estimate – not to mention an ever-extending deadline for completion that stretches out to, well, in all likelihood the never-never.

There are self-evident similarities between the Snowy hydro shambles and the Voice. Both were dreamed up by politicians and bureaucrats to solve ideologically driven, virtue-signalling agendas, as opposed to being credible, pragmatic and well-thought-through solutions to tangible political issues demanded by the broad Australian electorate. This is symptomatic of today’s style of focus group-driven, bean bag-designed and Power-point-marketed politics that has done so much damage to this nation. No matter how earnest those so-called ‘architects’ of the Voice may be, there are two glaring practical problems that we are expected to take on trust because the evidence is not there to support the claims. Firstly, what are the limits on the Voice’s powers? Power without any predetermined limitations or irrefutable checks and balances is absolute power. That sort of ‘blank cheque/we’ll work out the details later’ power is a recipe for corruption, horse-trading, mismanagement, monumental waste and injustice. Secondly, any proposal for a building, a piece of machinery, a roadway or other infrastructure that cannot spell out in specific detail how it will work and what it will deliver is destined to fail.

Much like Snowy 2.0, the Voice is the latest in a long line of cross-your-fingers-and-hope-that-it-works enterprises foisted on taxpayers by self-serving state and federal government ministers, sitting alongside the NBN, ‘net zero’ and other such gargantuan drains on the public purse. Of course, nothing is impossible, and there is always the chance that a Voice in the constitution could fluke it and become some amazing vehicle that magically improves the lot of indigenous communities and brings unbridled prosperity and harmony to our most disadvantaged Australians. But given that not even its most ardent advocates have been able to credibly articulate the mechanism by which such an outcome might occur, the far more likely outcome is that the Voice, if it passes on 14 October, will see a conga line of activists and academics in marble-corridored Canberra offices secure eye-watering salaries in perpetuity and annual trips to ‘First Nations’ love-fests around the world whilst spouting left-wing claptrap on Q&A and enabling the python-like grip of failed socialist doctrines to squeeze the life out of indigenous aspirations and livelihoods. The only way to truly improve the lives of those caught between two worlds in remote townships is through education and jobs and through the dismantling of the Aboriginal welfare industry. The Voice, sadly, will make such a positive outcome impossible.

Which is why Australians must get out in force and persuade all who will listen to resoundingly vote No to the Voice.

Many readers have contacted us to ask permission to use the No logo above, which we happily grant you. You can download it from spectator.com.au