NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal has added his support to the campaign for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
In Australia on a speaking tour, O'Neal appeared briefly at a press conference with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney in Sydney on Saturday.
O'Neal did not take questions from reporters at the press conference, but shook hands with the prime minister and greeted Ms Burney by pressing her hand to his forehead at the start.
Retired NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal made a brief appearance at a press conference with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Sydney on Saturday. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
"I am here in your country. Whatever you need, you just let me know. Shaq loves Australia."
Explaining why Labor had recruited an American sporting celebrity for the campaign, Ms Burney said O'Neal's representatives had reached out to "specifically talk about the plans" in relation to the referendum.
"He (O'Neal) said it was a noble task, that it was important," Ms Burney said of how the sports star viewed the Voice proposal."
"I think having Shaquille O'Neal is important. But it is also extremely important to build support across the community.
"It was so wonderful to meet him and see there is international interest in the nation building project with the referendum."
She said there was increased optimism for the Voice to Parliament and curiosity amongst non-Aboriginal Australians.
"I mean, you actually go and cast a vote for decency; and I think Australians will turn up."
The prime minister said the meeting with O'Neal was "positive" and they found common ground in the desire to improve the lives of marginalised youths.
Mr Albanese gifted the basketball legend with a Rabbitohs jersey.
"He wanted to inform himself on what this debate is about," Mr Albanese said.
"It was a really positive discussion about how Australia is seen in the world and how Australia views itself."
The prime minister has committed to holding a referendum to change the constitution to include an advisory body to MPs - the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
The push for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament follows the historic in 2017, the culmination of two years of national consultation and regional dialogues.
Advocates call it the "largest consensus of First Nations peoples" on the issue of recognising Indigenous Australians in the constitution.
"It captures our aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with the people of Australia and a better future for our children based on justice and self-determination," the
No date has yet been set for a referendum. Mr Albanese revealed the proposed question Australians will be presented with in the referendum at the on 30 July 2022.
LISTEN: (from communities in the Northern Territory and from Northern Western Australia).
The draft referendum question is: "Do you support an alteration to the constitution that establishes an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice?"
Concerns over discrimination
Mr Albanese said he was aware of the concern that hateful comments could be ventilated - targeting Indigenous Australians - following the sometimes vitriolic debate that impacted LGBTIQ+ Australians during the same-sex marriage plebiscite in 2017.
But he said unity and division would be his emphasis.
"Of course we're concerned," he said.
"The truth is that inappropriate comments have been a feature, unfortunately, from time to time, including from political representatives towards Indigenous people over a long period of time.
"It's also an opportunity to bring the country together ... an opportunity for unity going forward."
He said he drew lessons from the debate that emerged in the lead up to the National Apology in 2008.
It was delivered in parliament by then-prime minister Kevin Rudd for the past government policies of forced child removal and assimilation of First Nations people.
"For a long time, there was a delay, there was an argument put that it would be a divisive moment.
"The truth is I look back at the footage now of kids at schools, stopping and watching on big screens - [it was] that unifying moment for our country. And I was proud to have been a part of it."
He said he believed this referendum presented the same opportunity as the Apology.
"This will be exactly the same ... where people will look back and go: Why didn't we do it before? There's no downside, only upside; and it's an opportunity to bring the country together."
