Australia PM Anthony Albanese has cast his ballot in favor of allowing Indigenous people to have a say in parliament and has stated that Australians have “nothing to fear from voting yes, but everything to gain.”
After visiting an early voting center in Marrickville with his son Nathan by his side, the prime minister also fired back against Tony Abbott and John Howard, who claimed on Saturday that the voice will not improve outcomes for Indigenous people in central Australia. The prime minister made his comments after visiting the early voting center in Marrickville with his son Nathan by his side.
Albanese, while speaking to the media in his home electorate of Grayndler, stated that Australians had the opportunity to make history by seizing the “once in a generation chance” to recognize Australia’s first peoples in the constitution and to establish a voice to advise parliament and government on matters that affect Indigenous Australians. Albanese’s home electorate is Grayndler, which is located in the state of New South Wales.
“There is nothing to fear from voting yes, but everything to gain,” he stated. “There is nothing to fear from voting yes.” “Because those two straightforward improvements, acknowledgment and the opportunity to listen through the medium of a non-binding advisory group, will make the finest country on earth an even fantastic place to live.
“This is an opportunity that has been presented to us. It’s possible that anything like this won’t come up for a very long time.
The prime minister expressed his confidence that Australians had optimism and hope for the future. “I am aware that no nation has ever prospered via the use of fear. “He said that what lifts a nation up is hope, optimism, and a vision for the future that looks forward,” and this is exactly what he meant.
In addition, he responded to the statements made by former PM John Howard and Tony Abbott on Saturday, in which they asserted that giving Indigenous Australians living in central Australia a voice in parliament would not make a significant difference in their day-to-day lives.
In an interview that was published on Saturday by the newspaper the Australian, Abbott made the statement that the central region of Australia “basically resembles a failed state.”
“The Howard government said that the apology for stolen generations would create all of these negative repercussions,” he said. “The apology for stolen generations has created all of these negative repercussions.” “Because of this, they were unable to provide an apology.
“Therefore, I’m not going to take lectures from John Howard, who was in office for 12 years, and Tony Abbott, who was also the prime minister of this nation and [who] cut funding for Indigenous programs in his budget in 2014,” the speaker said. “I’m not going to listen to either of them.” And they’re on the top page of the paper today giving advice on how we should proceed?”
Later on Saturday, PM Albanese joined the South Sydney Rabbitohs Chief Executive, Blake Solly, as Solly declared the NRL club’s official support for a voice to parliament.
After gathering feedback from the players and staff, the board and management of the Rabbitohs and Souths Cares have decided to back an amendment to the constitution that would give First Nations people a voice and recognize their contributions, according to Solly.
“We hope that this change to the constitution will ensure that progress is achieved where it is most needed,” he said. “We are hopeful that this will be the case.” “At this point in our nation’s history, we are at a significant crossroads.
On Friday, PM Albanese traveled to Queensland, and he has stated that he will travel to each and every other state and territory over the course of the following week before the referendum date on the following Saturday.
