The debate over the Indigenous voice to parliament has been “overcomplicated” by lies, misinformation and fear-mongering, the rapper and Yorta Yorta man Briggs says, so people need to “defuse the nonsense”.
Briggs said on Tuesday he was supporting the yes campaign to “uncomplicate the message”.
The hip-hop artist does not believe anything “regenerative or progressive” could come from a no vote on 14 October.
“I feel like it would set us back and does nothing to mend the already fragile and fragmented dialogue Australia already has with Indigenous people,” he told Guardian Australia.
“Yes is the only way to maintain this idea that we’re still working towards a more unified country and society.”
Briggs said referendums were a question of principle and then details were legislated within the parliament that “everybody voted for” after the fact.
“I don’t believe the majority of Australians are debating the ins and outs of the sanctity of the constitution they haven’t read, or the parliament either, as much as they are deciding whether or not they value Aboriginal people,” he said.
“So I feel like my position is not so much about what we manage to gain from yes as much as it is [about] what we could possibly lose from no.”
Briggs will host a yes gig in his home town of Shepparton, in regional Victoria, on Friday. Now and Forever also features AB Original (Briggs with rapper Trials), Baker Boy, Barkaa, Emma Donovan, Hilltop Hoods, Jimmy Barnes, Mo’Ju and Paul Kelly. It will be co-hosted by the comedian Sam Pang. The tagline is “Don’t know? Come to the show”.
Briggs said the show would be a chance for people to become informed and see what a “yes vote could look like”.
With less than two weeks to go, and polling already open in some remote areas, the path to a yes victory is narrow. Briggs is among a number of Australian musicians who have very publicly thrown their support behind the yes campaign.
On Monday, Midnight Oil launched a radio advertising campaign they produced and paid for, explaining why people should vote yes and “not get sucked in by bullshit scare campaigns” on the Indigenous voice to parliament.
The ad uses their song, Power and the Passion, as an accompanying voiceover by lead singer Peter Garrett delivers the message: “Of course, your vote is totally up to you, but don’t get sucked in by all the bullshit scare campaigns. If you don’t know, find out!”
Briggs said people should “get on the front foot” and call out misinformation.
“Uncomplicate things – that’s how you defuse the nonsense. If someone says it divides the country, ask them how? Ask these people to answer to their claims. No is easy. No is a piece of piss. No is comfortable.”
He also had a message for the progressive no voters who argue they want a treaty first.
“If no prevails, it won’t be the progressive no that prevails. If you see no as a pathway for you, as a blackfella, you’re off your head. There’s no pathway there, there’s nothing. There’s no mechanism, no vehicle.
“Even if we had a treaty on the table, wouldn’t we need an advisory body to negotiate it? There’s nothing romantic about saying no to the government in this situation. Because you’re not saying no to the government, you’re saying no to 80% of blackfellas who want this.”
