Media conference - Bendigo, Central Victoria

Release Date:
Transcript

Topics: Voice to Parliament, referendum, improving the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

LISA CHESTERS, MEMBER FOR BENDIGO: To welcome a very dear friend of mine and a warrior of the Yes campaign and the Voice to parliament - the amazing Linda Burney, who is the Minister for Indigenous Affairs. So Linda is going to say a few words before we kick start our official rally. We will be joined by our First Nations community leaders here, the Djaara people and will also have a few other speakers. So big Bendigo welcome to Linda Burney.

LINDA BURNEY, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: Thank you, Lisa. And thank you to everyone who turned out in Bendigo today, and thank you to the Djaara people for their extraordinary hospitality and welcome this morning. We have just two and a half weeks to go to referendum day. And as I'm moving across this country, there is such positivity, and such a show of support from people on the ground. And we can see this here in Bendigo today. The no case has tried to make this very complicated. But the arguments for a Voice to the parliament are very simple. It is about recognising the 65,000 years of history and story and culture that we all share as a nation. It's about giving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people a say in decisions that affect the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. And most importantly, it is about changing the life outcomes for people. If you talk to people, if you listen to people, you'll get better outcomes in things like life expectancy, in things like incarceration rates, in things like educational outcomes in things like infant mortality. These are important issues. And they are about real people. Obviously, this referendum there is a high bar in any Australian referendum, a double majority. But I am confident with the support of people like the people here in Bendigo, that we are going to see a successful referendum come the 14th of October. The Yes case is about solutions. It's about giving options for the way in which things can be improved in this country. It is inarguable that the outcomes for Aboriginal people are not acceptable. They are not acceptable to the people here in Bendigo. They are not acceptable anywhere. Structural change is required. And that's what the referendum is about. There is nothing to fear from this referendum. For most people, there'll be no change at all. But for First Peoples there'll be profound change and across this country you'll see unity, you will see as Noel Pearson spoke about today at The Press Club, love spread across this country and that is our aim. That is our goal. And that is what we will work towards right up till the end of the 14th of October. So thank you everybody.