Aussie music legend John Farnham has lent his iconic anthem You’re the Voice to the Yes camp in assist of the Voice to Parliament.
The observe will likely be featured within the History is Calling marketing campaign that can air on TV and the web throughout the nation within the lead as much as the October 14 referendum.
It marks the primary time Farnham has given permission for the basic tune for use in a business.
After he final week introduced he was cancer-free, the previous Australian of the Year and ARIA Hall of Famer revealed his subsequent main profession transfer by asserting he was lending his voice to The Voice.
“This song changed my life. I can only hope that now it might help, in some small way, to change the lives of our First Nations Peoples for the better,” Farnham mentioned.
But not everyone seems to be a fan of the brand new advert.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton used the announcement to resume his assault on the federal government for not detailing the Voice’s mannequin previous to the election.
“In a sense, it’s the appropriate theme song for the Yes campaign, because remember that the key line in the lyrics there is, you know, ‘you’re the voice, try to understand it’,” he informed Sky News on Sunday.
“I honestly don’t think most Australians understand it. And they want to be informed.”
The authorities has beforehand mentioned the Voice can be an advisory physique chosen by Indigenous folks primarily based on the needs of native communities.
The marketing campaign tracks a household from the Nineteen Eighties as they witness iconic moments all through Australia’s historical past, together with the Mabo resolution, the 1966 gun regulation reform, Cathy Freeman’s win on the 2000 Olympics, the 2008 apology to the Stolen Generation and the wedding equality plebiscite in 2016.
Voice supporters, together with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, have referred to as the Voice vote a once-in-a-generation alternative.
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Farnham’s shut buddy Tim Wheatley mentioned the enduring tune “is not aligned with any political party” and the referendum was the right second to loosen the tight grip the singer and his supervisor, Tim’s father Glenn Wheatley, had saved on the tune.
“It is aligned with humanity. It’s a song for all Australians. Always has been, always will be,” he mentioned.
“Win or lose this referendum, this song will forever remain on the right side of history. Both John and my father have fiercely protected this song’s use for decades, I think for this very moment.”
Throughout the marketing campaign, Voice supporters have tried to attract parallels between the referendum and massive moments in Australian historical past.
“You’re the Voice is the nation’s unofficial anthem,” mentioned Uluru assertion from the guts architect Megan Davis.
“It’s been the consistent theme of my life of the last six years … we had people asking ‘have you thought about The Voice?’, ‘have you thought about Johnnie Farnham?’.
“Some time around the NRL final it was suggested we reach out to (Tim) Wheatley … I got a response (from John Farnham) in January, and he said yes, which was exciting.”
Professor Davis mentioned the Yes marketing campaign had been engaged on the marketing campaign in secret for six months and managed to maintain it beneath wraps.
“It will have a monumental impact on the campaign,” Professor Davis mentioned.
“It speaks to the agency of the Australian people, it’s a rousing song, a call to arms, and that’s what this referendum is.
“There’s robust debate and bucketloads of disinformation, but what Australians need to keep their eye on is while we’ve been uncertain in decision making, we are a nation who’ve made good decisions.”
Professor Davis mentioned disinformation was, in her opinion, one of many largest hurdles the Yes marketing campaign had confronted.
“In all the referendums that have come before you’ve never had this sort of disinformation, you’ve never had a referendum in a ‘Trumpian’-era,” she mentioned.
“One of the core work we do is face-to-face talks with Australians … what we’re hearing is they’re not getting factual information through the media, so things like this song helps Australians step up and get that information to make an informed decision.”
Mr Albanese on Wednesday fired the starter’s gun on the six-week referendum marketing campaign.
The Yes camp has denied claims by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton that it has a $100m warfare chest at its disposal for an promoting blitz.
Supporters have mentioned they need to doorknock 250,000 properties as a part of a volunteer-led grassroots marketing campaign.
In his first main interview since asserting the date of the referendum, Mr Albanese this week made an enormous pitch to center Australia.
“For many years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have advocated for constitutional recognition through a Voice,” Mr Albanese informed A Current Affair.
“Our government, along with every single state and territory government, has committed to it. Legal experts have endorsed it.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
