TRANSCRIPT:
The end of a long walk and the start of an intensified campaign.
AFL Legend Michael Long has just finished a 19-day trek from Melbourne to Canberra to raise support for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
He was welcomed to the nation's capital by the Prime Minister.
"We are being asked as Australians to walk just a few short steps. Michael just walked from Melbourne, I walked from just across the lake. He's walked a long way, I was asked and invited to walk a short way. That is what is going on over the next four and a half weeks. That is the opportunity that we have."
The AFL champion and First Nations advocate first walked the same route in 2004, protesting then-prime minister John Howard's decision to disband the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.
Michael Long says he's failed to see adequate change for Indigenous Australians since then.
"In the 19 years since that meeting, the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians has not closed. In some areas it has widened, according to our Productivity Commission latest report. That's why we set out from Melbourne again 19 days ago. A yes vote in the referendum on the Voice to Parliament will give Indigenous people the self-determination they asked for all those years ago."
But the no campaign has pushed back against these kinds of statements.
The Opposition spokesperson for Indigenous Australians, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, has used a National Press Club speech to say the Voice to Parliament is built on lies.
She says it's not true that Indigenous Australians do not already have a voice, pointing to herself as one of 11 Indigenous members currently in parliament.
"Remember, it is the Labor Party who have gone down this path of division by hitching recognition which most Australians support to the Voice. The Coalition is consistent on supporting recognition, but we, rightly, say no to a divisive Voice. If the referendum goes down, that's on Labor. For choosing a divisive and non-consultative path which sets back recognition."
The 'No' side have been accused of using alleged misinformation and fear tactics as part of their campaign.
Text messages have been sent out in the lead-up to the voice referendum urging recipients to vote no and advising them to apply for a postal vote.
An advocate for the 'no' campaign, Nyunggai man and former Labor Party president Warren Mundine, has defended the text messaging approach.
He says both sides of the campaign should refocus their efforts to the question at hand.
"We need to move away from these vitriolic arguments and fights because my concern is we're going to wake up on Sunday and the whole place is on fire. We really want people, no matter what the decision is, it's a democracy, we want people to make that choice, and we must all accept it."
The final sitting day of Parliament before the break has also been dominated by questions around national security.
Labor has introduced new laws that will require former soldiers and defence staff to get approval before they work for a foreign government or military service.
Defence Minister Richard Marles says the new laws will identify people who may be working either unwittingly or deliberately for a foreign entity or government.
He says the legislation would also give Washington and London greater confidence in Australia's commitment to keeping secrets under the AUKUS agreement, through which it will acquire nuclear-propelled submarines.
"This bill will ensure individuals in possession of sensitive defence information who want to undertake these activities seek authorisation to do so. This is to ensure their activities are not damaging to Australia's national interest."
Meanwhile, there have been calls from Independent MPs for the federal government to release a declassified version of a report on Australia's climate security risk.
Independent MP Zali Steggall says Australians have a right to see the document.
"So why is the Australian government keeping secret what it knows about the magnitude of this threat? How can members of parliament effectively discharge their duties and oversee policy-making and departmental performance in defence, climate, immigration, intelligence and foreign affairs portfolios when crucial information pertaining to climate risk has not been made available to them?"
But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the government won't release the assessment - completed by the Office of National Intelligence in the last 12 months - because it contains classified information.
