The ‘no’ campaign against the Indigenous Voice is standing by one of its most prominent members, despite his comments calling for blood tests for Indigenous welfare recipients and establishing a public holiday to mark “intermarriage”.

There are growing calls from both sides of the Voice debate for Gary Johns, a former minister in the Keating government and now head of leading anti-Voice group Recognise a Better Way, to resign or be sacked over the remarks.

It follows a storm on Monday, when Dr Johns faced scrutiny for comments in his 2022 book titled The Burden of Culture: How to Dismantle the Aboriginal Industry and Give Hope to its Victims. In it, he suggested abolishing Welcome to Country ceremonies and creating a new public holiday called Intermarriage Day.

“It is possible to test Aboriginal lineage,” Dr Johns wrote.

“If the current three-part test on Aboriginality is to remain, then, just as Aborigines insist in native title claims, blood will have to be measured for all benefits and jobs.”

Dr Johns, who is also a former head of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, defended his views on Sky News Australia on Monday night.

“I would rather there be none of these embarrassing discussions. There should be no race-based programs and no race-based benefits. Then we can dispense with the whole nonsense of blood and DNA and measurement and identity,” he told interviewer Andrew Bolt.

“Why should it be based on race? It’s such an awful concept, but if you’re going to do it, you’re going to have to measure it, you’re going to have to say who is and isn’t an Aboriginal person. At the moment we’re too afraid to ask.”

The most recent comments follow the emergence of a video of Dr Johns speaking at the Mannkal Economic Education Foundation’s Christmas party last year.

“As I have said at some places in Sydney, looking out over Sydney Harbour, words to the effect of – if this was an invasion, it was a bloody good one,” he said.

“Because we have built a wonderful liberal society, which would never have been built but for a civilisation arriving here, overtaking people who were our forebears. We all were hunter gatherers but we moved on.”

Liberals for Yes co-convenor Kate Carnell said the policies espoused by Dr Johns were “racially discriminatory [and had] been discredited over years and years”.

“They’re in the dust bin of history, these sorts of comments and they’re nothing to do with the referendum,” Ms Carnell told Sky News Australia.

NSW opposition health spokesman Matt Kean was also critical, describing Dr Johns’ comments as “extreme” and “beyond the pale”.

Teal MPs Allegra Spender and Monique Ryan have also expressed concerns about his role in the “no” campaign, as have Labor MP Andrew Charlton and Senator Jana Stewart, a Mutthi Mutthi and Wamba Wamba woman.

But another leading Voice opponent, Warren Mundine, is standing by Dr Johns. He said Dr Johns was an important part of the “no” campaign and he was comfortable with him staying on, despite disagreeing with some of his views.

“Gary Johns is like any other Australian. He’s entitled to his viewpoints and I’m a great believer in free speech. Now me and him, we will have discussions about that and we disagree on different angles of it but there’s no way I’m going to be calling for him to step down,” Mr Mundine told Sky News.

“Just because people complain about him and that, at least he’s honest about his approach to these things and I’m very pleased to have him on our committee and to have him as an adviser to us.”

Dr Johns has reportedly said he won’t resign from the campaign.