Retired political journalist Laurie Oakes has branded Anthony Albanese an ‘incompetent dill’ following the failure of the Voice to Parliament referendum.
The iconic Nine News political editor said he thought the entire debate around the referendum was ‘pretty bad’, and said it may damage the Prime Minister’s reputation with the public.
‘I think it was pretty damaging, I think he (Mr Albanese) handled it incompetently and I assumed the voters noticed that there wasn’t much competence involved,’ Oakes told 2GB’s Afternoons with Deborah Knight.
‘When you handle something as big as the Voice as badly as he handled it, people are naturally going to assume that you’re not handling other things very well either.
The former Nine News political editor said he thought the entire debate around the referendum was ‘pretty bad’, and said it may damage the Prime Minister’s reputation with the public
‘And that’s the risk Anthony Albanese faces. He’s come out of this Voice referendum looking like an incompetent dill and he may be stuck with that.’
The veteran journalist also weighed in on both the Yes and No campaigns.
He said while the misinformation from the No side was ‘pretty disgraceful’, the Yes campaign was ‘unconvincing and pointless’.
‘It didn’t explain anything,’ he said.
The Voice was soundly rejected on October 14 with 60 per cent of ns voting No.
Every state and territory except the ACT voted against the constitutional change to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to parliament and executive government.
Former political journalist Laurie Oakes (pictured) has branded Anthony Albanese an ‘incompetent dill’ following the failure of the Voice to Parliament referendum
‘While tonight’s result is not one that I had hoped for, I absolutely respect the decision of the n people and the democratic process that has delivered it,’ Mr Albanese said when the referendum failed.
‘When we reflect on everything happening in the world today, we can all give thanks that here in we make the big decisions peacefully and as equals, with one vote, one value.
‘What I could promise was that we would go all in, that we would try, and we have.
‘Of course, when you do the hard things, when you aim high, sometimes you fall short. And tonight we acknowledge, understand and respect that we have.’
Anthony Albanese is pictured alongside his partner Jodie Haydon and Qantas CEO Alan Joyce