September 22, 2023
The No campaign has warned that left-wing extremists could hijack anti-voice rallies across the country to run “false flag” operations, as voice leaders Megan Davis and Pat Anderson condemned the gatherings over links to pro-Kremlin activist Simeon Boikov.
The Australian understands the Yes23 campaign will closely monitor who attends the rallies in capital cities and regional towns, including Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, amid concerns neo-Nazis and extreme right-wing activists could turn up.
The No campaign, which has not organised the rallies, said it had “received numerous pieces of feedback that seemed to indicate that left-wing activists will seek to use the events planned for this weekend as ‘false flag’ opportunities”.
“We are sure that any of the No voters attending will be there peacefully and cheerfully raise their voices in support of voting against division,” a No campaign spokesman said.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on Thursday attacked rallies linked to “anybody who’s pro (Vladimir) Putin”.
“But I would encourage people to go to peaceful, lawful rallies, conducted by No campaigners and listen to the very serious concerns and hesitations those people have. I’m talking about people in the suburbs, I’m talking about people in regional areas,” Mr Dutton said. “Not inner-city elites – they’ll vote for the Greens and they’ll vote for the voice.”
Professor Davis and Ms Anderson said “these No rallies demonstrate how the No campaign benefits from division and disunity, with hostile and anti-Australian interests aligning themselves with No’s position and supporters”.
Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson urged No voters against attending rallies promoted by Mr Boikov.
“This weekend’s rallies have nothing to do with the official No campaign and are being run by people clearly looking to funnel mainstream Australians to wacky causes like supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine and opposing AUKUS,” Senator Paterson told The Australian.
“Trying to piggyback off a more popular cause is a classic tactic of extremists, and the Yes campaign’s attempt to smear ordinary No voters by association is grubby and underhanded.”
Mr Boikov, who calls himself the Aussie Cossack, has been promoting “no to the voice” rallies, which will be attended by politicians including NSW One Nation MP Tania Mihailuk, United Australia Party leader Craig Kelly, NSW Upper House MP John Ruddick and former Liberal MP Ross Cameron.
A record 1.2 million Australians have applied for postal votes and millions more are expected to vote at pre-poll booths in the two weeks ahead of Anthony Albanese’s voice referendum, potentially delaying a final result if the count is tight.
The Australian Electoral Commission has also put a call out for workers to staff booths across the country, particularly in rural and remote areas, with 63,000 out of a required 100,000 confirmed.
Rolls were closed on Monday night and, AEC Commissioner Tom Rogers on Thursday said more than 17.6 million Australians were eligible to cast their vote on October 14.
Similar to postal vote trends at general elections where the Coalition outperforms Labor, the No campaign is confident it will beat Yes23 on postals. Yes23 sources said their focus had been on reaching younger voters through digital engagement and ensuring they organise volunteers to hand out leaflets at pre-poll booths.
Almost 98 per cent of voters have enrolled, including a record number of young and Indigenous Australians.
