Former prime minister Tony Abbott has rallied against social media giants after a series of paid advertisements opposing the Voice to Parliament were pulled.
Advance Australia’s ads pushing people to reject the upcoming referendum were removed by Facebook over what it labeled “misinformation”, according to the lobby group’s chief Matthew Sheahan.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Mr Abbott accused the government and big tech of slanting the playing field in favor of the “yes” vote.
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“The government is hoping to push this through on the ‘vibe’, relying on people’s good will and reluctance to be thought ungenerous to Aboriginal people,” he said.
“But it’s doing its best to slant the playing field against the ‘no’ case by not funding either side, by giving tax deductible status to the ‘yes’ case only, and now by relying on woke public companies to push the ‘yes’ case while relying on Big Tech to censor the ‘no’ case.”
One post by Advance Australia suggested Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wants to “cement identity politics” in Australia’s founding document.
“He’s announced a referendum to create an Indigenous Voice to Parliament,” it read.
“That means our nation will be divided by race.”
The Voice to Parliament would be a permanent body representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that would advise the government on policies relating to Indigenous issues.
Mr Albanese has vowed to deliver the landmark referendum during his first term in government.
The 28th prime minister said the alleged censorship was enough to be “deeply suspicious” of the campaign to support the Voice.
“The fact that voice supporters are already engaging in censorship is yet another reason to be deeply suspicious of making this a forever body by enshrining it in the constitution,” Mr Abbott added.
The Labor government will go ahead with a so-called “week of action” in February to effectively launch the “yes” campaign for the constitutionally enshrined Indigenous Voice.
Supporters of the Voice will engage in various community activities such as barbecues and door knocking to further raise awareness and momentum ahead of this year’s referendum.
The federal National Party announced in late November that it would oppose the Voice to Parliament after consulting with Indigenous communities across the country.
Mr Abbott’s Liberal Party, led by Peter Dutton, has indicated it will come to a final position on the proposal in early 2023.
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