"I would say it again": Ray Martin doubles down on Voice comments
Ray Martin has been grilled in an explosive interview over his divisive comments about No voters ahead of the Voice to Parliament referendum.
The veteran journalist appeared on A Current Affair to double down on his comments, saying he does not regret what he said.
On Wednesday, Ray Martin spoke to supporters of the Yes campaign at the Factory Theatre in Marrickville, in Sydney's inner west, as he called out those who are voting No, suggesting they are too lazy to educate themselves by performing a simple Google search, and instead are being driven by division and fear.
Martin said, “If you don’t know, find out what you don’t know.”
"What that excellent slogan is saying, is if you’re a dinosaur or a d**khead who can’t be bothered reading, then vote No.”
In the tense interview, in which Langdon continuously interrupted Martin, the ACA host suggested the Voice debate “needs to calm down and get back to being respectful”.
“Do you regret those comments, Ray?” she asked
“No, I don’t,” Martin said.
“This is a really important referendum. And I did not call No voters those words, I was talking about the slogan. ‘If you don’t know, vote No.’ That is an endorsement of ignorance. If you don’t know, find out, do not vote ignorantly. That is a dinosaur."
"It is such an important vote, it is so important, and you need to find out.”
“A lot of families have a lot of stuff on the plate,” Langdon said. “They are worried about power and food prices and crime, and many of them are the people that you’re calling names.”
Martin insisted “no I am not”.
“This is not a difficult one — you do not need a dictionary to find out what it is about,” he said.
“It is about two things. It is about recognising First Australians in the Constitution, and do we give them a Voice … no veto, a Voice after 200 years of being told what to do. It is not about treaties or reimbursements. It is about nothing apart from these two things.”
Langdon said Martin was a “respected journalist for many years” and knew “language is important, and the language used in that speech was inflammatory”, but Martin stood by his words.
“I do not think it is and I stick by the language,” Martin said. “I would say it again. It was at Marrickville Hall when I was speaking, I was not speaking at the Catholic church up at the lectern. I was not talking to Women’s Weekly.”
Asked again if he thought his language was disrespectful, Martin said, “I’ll tell you what’s disrespectful — voting, and admitting your ignorance, and going ahead and voting on such an important issue as this.”
Ray Martin went on to say the language he used was “part of the Australian vernacular and you will hear it all the time on morning radio”, calling out conservative broadcasters who use similar insults to throw at the Yes campaign.
Langdon admitted she watched Martin‘s full speech and while much of it was “very powerful”, the debate had “become inflammatory and divisive” and “you know that the most controversial thing you say is what is going to be picked up, and it has”.
“I have been a journalist almost 60 years and I think people trust me,” Martin said.
“I have reason to be trusted and I think this is really important. I do not think we should be scared by a scare campaign. I do not think we should look for something that is not in the referendum and I think that has happened. That is what the No side is doing.”
He continued, "I do not think it is confusing. We have only made it confusing. The words are simple. Do you recognise the First Australians? Do you want to give them a Voice for the first time? Instead of telling them how to run their lives. When we listen to them in community health, community education and community life, we do much better. Instead of telling them what to do.”
Martin admitted that the Yes campaign has not been perfect, but that was not a good enough reason to vote No on October 14th.
“If you’re asking me has the campaign been good, I would say no,” Martin conceded.
“And if you ask me whether this referendum will end poverty and disadvantage, the answer is no. But it is unquestionably a step forward.”
Image credits: A Current Affair