Pearson's Prediction Proven

"We are a much-unloved people," leading Yes campaigner Noel Pearson said when he delivered the first of his Boyer Lectures 12 months ago.

"We are perhaps the ethnic group Australians feel least connected to. We are not popular and we are not personally known to many Australians. Few have met us and a small minority count us as friends."

Despite this, he said, "Australians hold and express strong views about us, the great proportion of which is negative and unfriendly. It has ever been thus. Worse in the past but still true today."

If success at the referendum was predicated on popularity as a people, he said, "then it is doubtful we will succeed".

"It does not and will not take much to mobilise antipathy against Aboriginal people and to conjure the worst imaginings about us and the recognition we seek. For those who wish to oppose our recognition, it will be like shooting fish in a barrel. An inane thing to do — but easy. A heartless thing to do — but easy."

it only shows the pattern of adversarial politics is indeed predictable. regardless of the issue, Dutton was bound to oppose, the Voice being the matter only made it more noticeable, more obvious.

and I suppose Dutton, so bland in his inner world, had so little imagination with which to make his attack on Labs discrete, hidden behind common civility AS Morrison would have done or masked by urbane nuance as Turnbull would have. all his imagination had was a hammer to bludgeon Aboriginal people with - typical old style copper.

and after all, school kids love to cheer on a bit of biff.