TRANSCRIPT
At a rainy train station in North Sydney, acting Prime Minister Richard Marles joined Independent M-P for North Sydney, Kylea Tink, and Yes23 campaigners to talk to morning commuters about the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
Ms Tink urged voters to think of the referendum as an opportunity for generational change - and said the Voice boils down to three key aims.
"One: recognise the First Nations people here in Australia. Two: empower them to be heard, when our federal government is making laws for them, and number three: giving our government of the day the right to pass legislation on how that voice performs. It's no more complicated than that. And it's really important, I believe, for future generations, for us to step in and be everything we possibly can be as a nation. This is our moment. So I think, for all those who've been sitting back, waiting for the date to be called, it's now time to show up."
Mr Marles agreed the Voice was about recognising First Nations people and listening to them, in a way they've chosen.
He appealed for support for the 'Yes' vote across party lines, emphasising the role of former Liberal prime ministers in the decade leading up to the Voice proposal.
"The process of seeking to recognise our First Nations people in the constitution was started by the Howard government, and the idea of recognising our First Nations people in a way that our First Nations people want to be recognised was an initiative of the Abbott government. And that led to thousands of meetings around the country of our First Nations people, leading up to the 2017 meeting at Uluru, which produced the one-page Uluru Statement from the Heart. And all we're doing on 14 October is finishing that process, by making sure that our founding document is complete."
But 'No' campaigners, including former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, have repeated the distinction between recognition and a representative body, which they say goes too far.
Mr Abbott told 2GB Radio he did not support a Voice to parliament, and said he thought most Australians would prefer a 'simple acknowledgment' of Indigenous people.
The former Liberal P-M said he did not think First Nations people should hold a special place in the constitution.
Instead, he favoured a preamble to the constitution that recognised Australia's British foundation and multicultural communities in equal terms to First Nations groups.
"I just want us to go forward together as one equal people, I want our constitution to remain colour-blind. And that's my difficulty with the voice, the voice is an attempt to give that percentage of our population that has some Indigenous ancestry a disproportionate say over the way our country runs and I just think that's wrong in principle, as well as having so many difficult and perhaps dangerous downsides in practice."
That distinction - between recognition and representation - is also driving Opposition Leader Peter Dutton's proposal for a second referendum.
Mr Dutton has proposed a referendum on the question of constitutional recognition, without a representative body.
That referendum would only take place if the 'Yes' vote failed and Labor lost the next federal election - although Mr Dutton would not commit to a time-frame within that scenario.
It's a proposal that the coalition's own shadow Indigenous Affairs spokeswoman and lead 'No' campaigner, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, has declined to support.
The Country Liberals Senator told Sky News on Thursday evening ((7 Aug)) she was focused on the upcoming referendum.
“Look, at this stage there are a couple of bridges we've got to cross, the first bridge is getting past this referendum, and that is certainly the focus, between now and October 14. And there needs to be, obviously, further discussion as to a second referendum within party rooms and determinations made to bring everyone together in agreeance with that."
However, on Friday morning Mr Dutton reiterated his commitment to holding a second referendum.
He told ABC Radio National the referendum should be based on the majority views of Australians as a whole, not the views of Indigenous Australians.
"We live in a democracy where the majority of Australians will vote and they will decide the outcome of this referendum, that's the reality. And I reject the thought that a majority of Indigenous people don't support recognition."
As it stands, the question that Australians will vote 'yes' or 'no' on, on 14 October, links recognition with representation.
It asks the following question:
'A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?'
For those who are undecided on this question, Mr Dutton's proposal of a second referendum suggests there will be another chance, beyond October 14.
Official 'Yes' campaigners are keen to frame it as a once-in-a-generation chance to shape the future.
You can find comprehensive information about the referendum by visiting the S-B-S Voice Referendum portal at .
