Yes activist Thomas Mayo criticizes No supporter Ben Abbatangelo over the stance of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament

Voice architect and Yes activist Thomas Mayo has harshly criticized an Indigenous activist over his comments on why he voted No in the referendum.

Ben Abbatangelo, a proud Gunaikurnai and Wotjobaluk man and writer, was originally a yes voter but has since changed his stance to a hard no.

He is considered a supporter of the “progressive” No camp, which includes independent Senator Lidia Thorpe, as he believes the voice is “too small, too slow” and does not do enough for Indigenous people.

For Mr Abbatangelo, a no vote would be a “regenerative moment for the country”, comparing the referendum to a natural disaster.

“You know, like a bushfire breaks through and devastates the entire scene. But when you come back to that site six months later … and you see the green breaking through,” he told ABC’s Four Corners on Monday night.

Mr Mayo responded to the comments in a heated Instagram post, taking aim at “progressive” No voters who labeled them “radical”.

Indigenous activist and writer Ben Abbatangelo (pictured) is part of the “progressive” No camp for The Voice to Parliament as he believes it does not do enough for Indigenous people

“A ‘no vote’ would be the moment of regeneration for the country is the most backwards thing I have ever heard from a so-called progressive,” he wrote.

“Especially without a tangible ‘how,’ it’s different than what we’re trying to do now.” The so-called progressive no is so radical, it’s conservative.”

Mr Mayo stressed the need for better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and called on the “progressive” No camp to put forward an alternative solution.

“We urgently need better outcomes in health, education, employment and justice,” he said.

“If you’re a progressive ‘no,’ why don’t you explain what, how, who, if you’re going to achieve better outcomes for Indigenous people without national representation?”

“And if your answer is no different than what we’ve already done, everything we’ve tried that has failed so far, then by saying ‘no’ you’re clearly just preserving the status quo.”

“Seriously, a ‘progressive no’ is a contradiction in terms,” ​​he added.

Mr Abbatangelo explained his reasons for switching to the No camp on ABC’s Four Corners.

“The idea that the people who stole this land and then profited directly from it are now going to a referendum to consider recognizing the people they stole it from is crazy,” he said.

He rejected the idea that the advisory board would represent a positive step for the Indigenous community.

“It’s not and we don’t have time.” “This slow, incremental change is killing us,” he said.

“I don’t want to take a small step, in the quicksand, with our feet tied together, I want to lift us out.”

“I want to dream and remember what it is like to live freely, autonomously and independently, while maintaining my dignity.”

Prominent Yes campaigner Thomas Mayo (pictured) criticized Mr Abbatangelo’s comments on the Voice to the ABC, describing them as “backward” and his position as “radical”.

The referendum will ask Australians whether they support a plan to enshrine an Indigenous voice in the constitution to deliver better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (pictured are Yes23 supporters at the Yes campaign launch in Brisbane to see).

Overall support has fallen to new lows as every state except Tasmania will vote “no” to a constitutional advisory body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

A Resolve Political Monitor poll published in Nine Newspapers on Monday found that 43 percent of voters supported a plan to enshrine an Indigenous voice in the constitution, down 20 percentage points from a year ago.

The percentage of Australians supporting the plan has fallen for the fifth month in a row.

It is also the third month in a row that the “no” is in the lead.

Since the last poll, Victoria has moved to a majority “no” state, leaving Tasmania as the only jurisdiction in the “yes” camp.

For a successful referendum, a yes vote of more than 50 percent of voters is required in four of the six states.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said there were still many undecided voters who could be persuaded when asked about the poll results.

“We will be asking them to vote yes because this recognizes 65,000 years of Australian history,” she told Seven’s Sunrise on Monday.

“This idea came from Aboriginal people, well over 80 percent of them support it.” This is not a committee that has veto power over Parliament. It doesn’t stop things from happening.

The Voice referendum will take place on October 14th.