No, voters are not racist and want their concerns to be taken seriously

Robyn Chance Getting white Australians to agree is the first step in improving the lives of the First Australian population. This is the real test we face as a nation.

real world Why will the voice magically uncover solutions to tribal disadvantages that influential and admired tribal elites failed to bring to the attention of decision makers?

Chris McGregor, Cabarita To all the “undecided” at the Voice: Please just stop this. The fact that non-Indigenous people are “indecisive” on Indigenous issues has brought us to the precarious state we are in today. How about we try indigenous ideas?

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Gymealad I’m tired of lecturing from the elite voice advocates, including athletes, academics and the media. This attitude that we vote no out of scaremongering, ignorance or racism is nonsense. The continued failure to address our legitimate concerns about the vote will only encourage more to vote ‘no’.

Synastry Pottery Shard If you don’t question anything and simply accept what celebrities tell you, you will vote yes. Anyone who thinks about it, asks questions and does their own research will vote no.

Cynthia Liu I assume that many of the rusty yes voters will eventually change their minds and vote no. Only a small percentage of voters are immune to logic and reason and will vote based on a particular sentiment.

Danger Will Robinson “The proposed vote is nothing more than an advisory body. The federal government already has dozens. That would be just one more.” This is not an accurate representation of the proposal. If so, why is a referendum necessary for this body but not for any of the others? The voice seeks a constitutional amendment. The others don’t.

latte lovers The question now is whether the Australian people will see through the disinformation and confusion being spread by the Coalition and No-Crew. If disingenuous arguments are the basis for the voice’s demise, then it would truly be a tragedy for our country. If it’s real concern for real problems that’s bringing it down, that would be a different matter.

Ian Cairns, Lindfield Why don’t we pass a vote law now, let it run for a few years so we can all see it in action, and then hold a referendum to decide whether we want to put it in the constitution?

Is populism at the heart of the No campaign?

• Columnist and senior journalist Jacqueline Maley wrote about the divide between the two opposing no camps – one arguing that the voice will be too powerful, the other that it isn’t powerful enough. The yes case will only be successful if it marks the middle ground.

Penelope Layton-Caisley, Marrickville People who doubt that the founding of the Voice will improve things for our Indigenous citizens should vote yes for a successful referendum and then insist that improvements occur.

Captain178 I’m left of center, but I’m offended that there isn’t any content for me to decide on. I am neither a lemming nor a party apparatchik. But until I can read more details on this vague, ambiguous idea, I’ll vote no.

enough is enough Australian voters will not fall for this scam of the hard left in politics, their media cheerleaders and their self-interest. The nation deserves better.

Christine “Equality does not mean that everyone should be treated equally. It has always been the case that marginalized or disadvantaged groups sometimes need unique representation.” Hear hear.

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Terryroger At the heart of populism is the belief that anyone, anywhere, gets more than you do. It is also at the heart of the No campaign.

meredith I believe that many of the people who will be voting “no” have failed to recognize the true nature of what the vote is proposing. Then there are others who vote no because of deep-seated prejudice against tribal peoples.

Graeme Finn, Summer Hill A group of senior legal and constitutional experts has categorically declared that the vote will have no power over Parliament, yet scaremongering to the contrary continues. In the case of no, it is about the spread of conspiracy theories.

Is the No campaign “misleading”?

• As the voice referendum suffers from confused messages, a lack of apparent leadership, lack of coordination, simmering rivalry tensions between indigenous camps and a ruthlessly misleading No campaign, Anthony Albanese faces a nasty dilemma, wrote political commentator and author Niki Savva.

Yay variety There is nothing recklessly misleading about the No campaign. However, there are major gaps in the details and the legal ramifications of the yes vote.

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optimist The question is: What does a party stand for? Do we want a society where dogs eat, like in the US? If yes, vote no. If we want a more caring society where compassion counts, vote yes. The rest is just noise.

Juanito Peter Dutton is doing untold damage to this country by removing the scab of racism. His behavior is shameful, and if people don’t see through this disingenuous statement about the voice that is “dividing us,” then they’re bigger idiots than I think they are. No wonder gambling companies are doing so well.

Rob H Why is the No campaign called misleading? Many see the entire Yes case as a Trojan horse for radically reshaping the way Australians are governed.

Ainslie Lamb, East Corrimal It’s not about power, it’s about closing the gap in living conditions, education, health and incarceration. That will not happen if Indigenous Australians do not have a voice in the policies that affect them.

Andrew Macintosh, Cromer Albanese has lost some skin for his courageous support of the Voice in Parliament, but win or lose, he deserves credit for his principled stance.

• You can join the discussion on smh.com.au in the comments of each article and in letters to the editor in print and online. I’ll see you next Friday. Your. sincerely, Pat Stringa, Letter Editor