Prominent No campaigner on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament Warren Mundine has publicly reached out to his daughter amid a health setback.
Mr Mundine and his daughter Garigarra Riley-Mundine have not spoken in four years with Ms Riley Mundine, herself a new mother, saying she was morally opposed to her father’s views in the lead-up to the referendum.
Mr Mundine told Daily Mail on Saturday he suffered a ‘breakdown’ on Saturday at a shopping centre near his home on Sydney’s leafy North Shore amid the strained relationship with his daughter and public backlash to his campaigning on the Voice, and was being treated at Royal North Shore Hospital.
‘It’s the day before Mother’s Day and it just triggered me and I had a breakdown,’ Mr Mundine said.
‘They had to call the police and ambulance who were very fantastic and they calmed me down and had a cup of tea with me and brought me to hospital.
‘And then I reached out to my daughter.’
Mr Mundine shared a picture of the pair, with Ms Riley-Mundine’s holding her niece, to X on Saturday morning with the caption: ‘Garra, or any of Garra’s friends, can you ask her to call me please. Her Dad.’
Warren Mundine has revealed he suffered a ‘breakdown’ this weekend amid backlash over his Voice views and his strained relationship with his daughter
Mr Mundine took to X to publicly ask his daughter to contact him
Mr Mundine said the rift between himself and his daughter deepened when she gave interviews during the referendum campaign publicly speaking out opposing his views.
Ms Riley-Mundine, who has Wiradjuri-Kamilaroi and Bundjalung-Yuin heritage, told The Guardian she felt his stance was ‘not morally right’.
In an interview with Narelda Jacobs for 10News she said the man she saw at the forefront of the No campaign was not the same man she knew growing up and his views were not how their family was raised.
She recalled how her parents met at a protest and claimed some people around Mr Mundine in recent years were not people he would have associated with in his younger days.
‘My daughter cut herself out of my life, I didn’t even know she was pregnant,’ Mr Mundine said.
‘She sided with Narelda Jacobs who was the person who attacked me on SBS.
‘But I’m proud of her and her opinions.’
Garigarra Riley-Mundine, 31, is one of seven children Mundine had with former wife and Indigenous educator Dr Lynette Riley during a 26-year marriage that ended in a 2008 divorce
Mr Mundine (pictured right with fellow No advocate Jacinta Price) was a high-profile campaigner against the Voice to Parliament
Mr Mundine said he has been subjected to intense backlash over his views against enshrining an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the Constitution.
‘Whether you voted Yes or No, we should be respectful to each other,’ he said.
‘I have suffered from mental health issues and racial abuse and attacks. I’ve lost positions on boards because of corporate cowboys taking action against me.
‘It’s taken a huge toll on my mental health, I’m seeing a psychologist.’
Mr Mundine said he was preparing to launch a campaign to increase awareness about mental health for all ns.
‘Men especially can be quiet about these things but there should be no shame to reach out for mental health support.
His ‘No Shame’ podcast is recording next week and will be released later in the year.
‘To my daughter I would say give me a call, reach out and we can sit down and have a cup of tea and talk.’
Daily Mail has contacted Ms Riley-Mundine for a response.