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TRANSCRIPT
A week after tens of thousands marched in support of an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, unofficial No vote rallies were held, drawing a much smaller turnout.
The so-called freedom rallies in places including Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane were not organised or endorsed by the official No campaign.
This attendee at the Melbourne event on the steps of state parliament says she is voting no - and can't wait for the referendum to be over.
"And the yes vote, I don't know, I don't understand it - so I am saying no. And I have always been in this country so, this is a country. And I believe we're all Australians. And I don't see the point in making it something that it is not."
The turnout this weekend was much smaller in scale to the tens of thousands last weekend.
Yes campaigners put the numbers last Sunday at around 200,000 across the country.
Police in Melbourne said there were 30,000 in attendance, in Sydney there tens of thousands, and in Brisbane 20,000.
For the unofficial No rallies about 1,000 turned up in Sydney, hundreds in Melbourne, 500 in Brisbane, and 100 in Adelaide.
Attendees voiced opinions ranging from conspiracies against COVID-19 to religious freedom.
At the event in Sydney's Hyde Park, attendee Richard says he doesn't believe the Yes campaigners have addressed his concerns.
"I'd like to keep our country a country we can be proud of. And, whatever happens, the outcome of this will be division and resentment. The case for no has been well ventilated, and it hasn't been responded to or addressed by the yes case, and the result will speak for itself."
Speaking at the Liberal state council meeting in Melbourne, federal opposition leader Peter Dutton says he is sticking to his position of voting no.
"I don't believe people are voting against a desire to help Indigenous people. I don't believe Australians are voting against a desire to recognise Australians of Indigenous heritage in our constitution. But I do believe they're voting against the voice because the Prime Minister has deliberately starved them of the information they need to make an informed judgment so they can win the hearts. But they're not winning the minds of Australians."
Yes campaign events were also held around the country.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined Yes campaigners speaking to shoppers at Sydney's West Ryde.
He encouraged people to do their homework and have conversations on what Australians are being asked to vote on on 14 October.
He says he believes momentum will continue to grow in the final three weeks before the referendum.
"And something I get great heart from is the decision of Kamahl - a very courageous decision. He is someone who came out to say no - and went away, spoke to people, read what it is about, read the question and decided that he would come out and declare his support for Yes, and say 'why would anyone oppose this'. So we have now a new term that we've coined today: 'Kamahl-mentum' in the last couple of weeks."
Malaysian-born Australian singer Kamahl says he has now changed his mind on the Voice, and plans to vote Yes after one-on-one conversations with comedian Dane Simpson and constitutional lawyer Eddie Synot.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers attended another Yes campaign event in Sydney.
"This is a demonstration that this need not be a divisive moment. This can be a unifying moment for our country. Whether you vote Liberal or Labour or greens or some other way, no matter what community you come from, or what part of the world you come from. This is our opportunity to grasp this generational opportunity to listen better and to get better outcomes."
On 14 October, voters will be asked to respond yes or no - do they support changing the Constitution to "recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice".
If a Yes vote is successful, an amendment would be added to the constitution to create an advisory body that would have the function to give advice to the Parliament and the Executive Government, on matters affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The function would be limited to giving advice only - the body would have no veto powers. Members of parliament would determine the laws on the composition, functions, powers and procedures of the body.
Remote voting services will be rolled out across Australia from Monday.
Hundreds of early voting centres will open from 2 October.
The Australian Electoral Commission says 1.2 million people have registered to vote by post, which must be submitted by 14 October.
And you can find comprehensive information about the referendum by visiting the SBS Voice Referendum portal at .
