We had two speeches recently for the ‘No’ side of the referendum. Warren Mundine’s speech – which was superb. Tony Abbott described it as one of the best speeches on race relations in this country. It follows on only a few weeks after Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s brilliant speech at the National Press Club.

They decided to put both Jacinta and Warren in the ‘broom cupboard’ out the back. But when it came to Noel Pearson, he got the big ballroom.

And it is his speech that I wish to talk about.

Noel Pearson’s speech really really disturbed me. There was this little bit in particular which is race-baiting, is dividing the nation deliberately, and is offensive in the extreme.

I am an indigenous Australian of Anglo-Celtic background – thank you very much, Noel Pearson – as are you.

Listen to what Noel Pearson had to say:

‘I say to multicultural communities in the campaign that I am involved [with] around the country. I say to them, “Listen, where do you fit into Australia? It’s a bit unclear. Are you with the mob from the UK? Are you kind of honorary settlers? Because some of you are the wrong colour. Or you don’t come from Northern Europe. You come from Africa, you come from Asia, you come from South America – you come from all over the joint. You come from China. I say to them, where do you fit in Australia?”’

So, let me just say this to you, Noel Pearson, that was absolutely disgusting.

Why isn’t the Race Discrimination Commissioner coming down on Noel Pearson – dragging him in front of the Human Rights Commission – because that was an utter disgrace.

Every one of us in Australia strives to make this the most successful multi-racial nation on Earth, and how dare you, Noel Pearson, sit there and say that somehow we – white Northern European Anglos – are ‘different’ … that you’ve got to choose between the two mobs. How dare you.

That was the most disgusting thing I have heard, and anybody out there who is thinking of voting ‘Yes’, you are voting ‘Yes’ to racism. I have said that from day one and I will say that all the way through.

‘Yes’ means ‘Yes’ to racism. And if you can look yourself in the mirror after listening to that and then vote ‘Yes’ then good luck to you because it was disgusting.

It is unbelievably offensive. In this nation, going back to the 1860s in places like South Australia and Western Australia, the laws were there to make sure that every person – black, white, and everything in-between were equal.

#Outsiders Opinion: Rowan Dean calls out Noel Pearson for race baiting.

"Why isn't the race discrimination commissioner coming down on Noel Pearson, dragging him in front of the human rights commission because that was an utter disgrace" @rowandean #VoteNoAustralia
watch?#NPC pic.twitter.com/V8jjCBde8c

— Timjbo ???? (@Tim_jbo) October 1, 2023