A Millwarparra man has said he did not know what the Voice to Parliament was when he was filmed reading anti-Voice sentiments that were written for him.
Stewart Lingiari's image was then posted to the social media sites of Warren Mundine and Senator Jacinta Price with the quote: ‘I don’t want you to look at me differently. That’s why I am voting no’.
that Mr Mundine and Senator Price had misidentified Mr Lingiari as the grandson of legendary stockman and land rights campaigner Vincent Lingiari.
"It's a different family all together," Mr Lingiari told NITV.
The Millwarparra man said he was distressed to find himself in the centre of the Voice debate, which he only discovered after niece member rang him.
"I don't want this to be happening. It's a disgrace to me and to my family in Kalkarindji."
The image and quote are still present on the Fair Australia website.
A screenshot from the Fair Australia website, which still features Mr Lingiari's quote. Mr Lingiari says he was handed the quote on a piece of paper. Credit: Daniel Butler
Voice discussions sprung on attendees
Mr Mundine, a vocal opponent of a constitutionally enshrined Voice, posted Mr Lingiari's image to his social media with the caption: "Vincent Lingiari's grandson is voting no!"
Senator Price made a similar post, captioned "Vincent Lingiari’s grandson thinks otherwise….
But the Millwarparra man said he only repeated words that were handed to him after an unrelated meeting in Canberra.
Lingiari met with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and the prominent No campaigners Price and Mundine in March to discuss issues relating to his outback Northern Territory home of Ngukurr.
"We've got issues here that need to be dealt with ... The first time I heard about the Voice was in Canberra."
A photo posted to Senator Price's Facebook page, featuring Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Warren Mundine. Mr Lingiari can be seen in the back row with a cap on.
When asked whether he now understands what the Voice debate is about, Mr Lingiari responded 'Not really'.
"I want the photo taken down [from the website]."
'They should have said something then'
Mr Mundine rejected any suggestion that he had knowingly misidentified Mr Lingiari.
"I spent two days with Mr Lingiari. He was introduced to me as the grandson of Vincent Lingiari and claimed that [himself] for two days," he told NITV.
Despite Stewart Lingiari's insistence that he had no connection whatsoever with the Gurindji legend, Mr Mundine said the confusion was down to a misunderstanding of Aboriginal culture.
"RMIT needs to understand ... kinship structures. You don't have to be a blood relationship within these traditional kinship structures."
Mundine also rejected Mr Lingiari's assertions that discussion of the Voice was unexpected at the meeting, or that.
"We stood in front of 20 to 30 media people, and this is how it was introduced. So if anyone is making claims they didn't know what it was about, they should have said something then," he said.
"He expressed to me that he was against [the Voice]."
However, another attendee at the March Canberra meeting, Sammy Ponto (who is against the Voice) said that the group had been "surprised" that constitutional recognition came up.
"They ... snookered us," he told FactLab.
He also corroborated Mr Lingiari's description of the written quotes.
“They sort of, like, wrote that down and told us to sort of like read it and speak it,” he said.
Mr Lingiari said he was uncomfortable with the fact his image is being used in the No campaign's material.
Mr Mundine said the Fair Australia campaign was discussing whether to remove Mr Lingiari's image from their website.
Minister condemns actions
Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney and members of the Referendum Working Group and Referendum Engagement Group during a Voice to Parliament press conference in Adelaide. Source: AAP / MATT TURNER/AAPIMAGE
“This raises real questions about the credibility of the No campaign," the minister said in a statement.
"It appears that some people have been misled into saying things on camera about constitutional recognition by the No campaign.
"How low can the No campaign go? [They] have serious questions to answer.”
NITV reached out to Jacinta Nampijinpa Price for comment.
