Speech – Queanbeyan | Prime Minister of Australia
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, and thank you to Aunty Matilda and the other Indigenous people who have welcomed us here this morning. And to all of my parliamentary colleagues who are here, it’s fantastic so many people turning out. And it’s great as well that Kate Carnell is here representing Liberals for Yes. This should be above politics. What is on the referendum ballot paper that I had the right to vote on yesterday, the first referendum held this century. Two things at stake here, recognising the first Australians in our nation’s founding document, we’re the only former colony on earth that hasn’t done that. It shouldn’t be too hard. And secondly, what’s the request? What’s the form of recognition that was asked for after the Abbott Government set up processes which led to the Uluru Statement from the Heart. The form of recognition is an advisory committee. An advisory committee that doesn’t have the right of veto, that isn’t a funding organisation, that won’t run programs. An advisory committee that will do just that, give advice and make representations to government and the parliament so that we get better outcomes. Because funnily enough, when you ask people who are directly affected by policies and programs for their views, you get better outcomes. We know that through justice reinvestment, through Indigenous Rangers programs, community health programs, and there’s something else you get as well. Because with that input in that agency, you also get responsibility. So you get greater efficiency as well. No one in this campaign is saying that we need to spend more money. What we’re saying is, we need to listen to people so that every dollar makes a difference. So that we do close the gap, because at the moment, four out of nineteen targets aren’t being met. If we do the same thing, we should expect the same outcomes. And the fear campaign being run against this is no more legitimate than the fear campaign that was run against the Apology to Stolen Generations, or against marriage equality. This is about giving assistance to a group of people, in this case, the first Australians making up less than four per cent of the population, at no cost to anyone else. All gain and no pain is what is at stake. So I was proud to vote Yes, yesterday in this referendum. Now, Martin Luther King’s got a bit of a crack here this morning in the speeches, so I’ll add another one – the arc of history bends towards justice. When I was the age of some of these young folk here, there was no acknowledgement of country, there was no history taught about what occurred during the colonisation, that it does have ongoing impact on Indigenous Australians. And the progress that has occurred over those decades has enriched all of us. This is about showing respect to our first Australians, but it’s also about lifting a burden off all of our shoulders that’s there. This thing called history that’s sitting on our shoulders. The fact that we don’t recognise the first Australians in our Constitution, but we do have provisions in there to allow New Zealand to join us as the second state. We do have so many archaic provisions in the Constitution. But what people are being asked for is really clear and simple. And when we talk to people over the next six days, that’s why I’m confident we can get there and get a positive outcome. Australians are being asked to say Yes to the first clause, the recognition, in recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the first peoples of Australia. That’s what it says, simple, clear, unambiguous – that’s the detail. And then, what’s the form of recognition? Three points. The first, there shall be a body to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Second, it may make representations to Parliament and executive government about matters affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, that’s what it will do. And the third, how will it operate? Of course, like other provisions of things, the way the Parliament works is that Parliament will have control. The Parliament will legislate, will make laws, including a really important word, including, because that what that provides is the legal certainty, including the composition, procedures, processes of the Voice – the internal how it will operate. So it can change over a period of time just like other laws are made. The constitution is just a principle that’s there. There is absolutely nothing to fear from this proposal, which is why the No campaign has been determined to talk about everything but what is on the ballot paper, everything but what people will vote for. So this week, I joined all faith groups in Australia on Thursday morning. The head of the Anglican Church in Australia, representing his bishops and clergy and faith leaders of Catholics, Maronites, Baptists, Uniting Church, Islamic community, Jewish community, Coptic Orthodox, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, all joined together in their support for Yes. And to me, that was a moment of unity. And it showed what we can achieve in this country as we take it forward, this great multicultural nation of ours, as we take forward in a way that enhances all of us, which is what this is about. So, I’m very confident that we can get there, but we need to talk to not just each other. But I know you’re gathered here today to go out and doorknock and I just say thank you, because it’s the conversations that we have with people that will make a difference in the next six days. I’ll be in Broken Hill and Port Lincoln and Mutitjulu and Uluru and Melbourne and Hobart and Perth and Adelaide and Sydney in the coming days. When I stood next to the referendum working group, I’ve said we’re all in, and I hope you’ve noticed that we are. Because this is nation building. This is something that we are doing for this but also importantly for future generations. This is the first time anyone here who’s forty or below has never voted in a referendum before. This is our time. This is the change that Australia deserves. So when you go and you go into that booth with the little pencil what way are you going to vote?
CROWD: Yes.
PRIME MINISTER: I didn’t quite hear that. What way are you got to vote?
CROWD: Yes.
PRIME MINISTER: One more time.
CROWD: Yes.
PRIME MINISTER: Let’s get this done Australia.