Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Nampijinpa Price for the question. I apologise that I haven't read that article in the Australian, but I am aware that the Uluru Statement from the Heart was agreed to by a broad range of First Nations communities across Australia. I also accept that there are First Nations Australians, like you, who are opposed to the referendum and opposed to the Voice. We have never pretended otherwise. But we do believe that the vast majority of First Nations Australians and, through them, their representative organisations are supportive of the referendum, are supportive of a constitutionally enshrined voice and support the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which was agreed to in 2017.

The government has listened to the representations from First Nations Australians around the call in the Uluru statement, which was for constitutional recognition of the history of this country and that that recognition be enshrined through a voice to our national parliament. That is what the referendum's about, and on 14 October every one of us and every Australian who is eligible to vote will be able to cast their vote for or against that proposal. We are responding to a call from First Nations people to put that referendum to a vote, and we will be supporting that vote. We will be voting 'yes' for that because we believe it will drive better outcomes and it will provide the appropriate recognition, through our country's birth certificate, of the long and proud history of this country that started before 1770.