SENATOR MALARNDIRRI MCCARTHY: Firstly, can I just say thank you to all for being here, I'd like to acknowledge the traditional owners of this land. It's such an absolute pleasure to have come from the Northern Territory to be here in Melbourne, but to be in Victoria, you know, we've got a pretty exciting day ahead. And I know you've just had an amazing weekend in football here and I'm sure people are still recovering from that. But it is also extra exciting because the early voting centres open here in Victoria, and I'll be looking forward to getting out there this morning and talking to voters who are going to vote early. This is an exciting time for Australia's history. We hope to see a yes vote on October 14, and we're calling on all Victorians to come out and support us. Today. I have with me, the most amazing woman who owns the store and she'll speak to in a moment Laura, but we've also got some of my colleagues from the Australian Parliament here. So we've got Monique Ryan, Senator Jana Stewart, our wonderful Senator for Victoria, and we also have Adam Bandt, the leader of the Greens, and the most amazing Dean Parkin, who runs the Yes campaign, of course, across Australia. So it's lovely to have them here. I'm going to hand over to Laura. And then obviously, we'll we're glad to take any questions.
CLOTHING THE GAPS FOUDNER, LAURA THOMPSON: Thank you, Senator McCarthy, Look, you know, Collingwood won the Grand Final and then to have to have these incredible leaders behind me choose to come to our store on such an important day. And that is when we get an opportunity now to say Yes to First Nations people. Yes to listening and Yes to a Voice. We're doing everything we can at Clothing the Gaps to get people I guess to support a First Nations Voice to Parliament. We've done a survey with Urban List where we surveyed our audience, and actually 91% of non-Indigenous people said that they would they would vote today they would vote yes. And 85% of First Nations people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people said that they would vote yes too and that's just in line with all the other statistics, we've been hearing that over 80% of mob want a voice and want to be recognised in the Constitution. So in some small way, I hope like as a business and as a black business we're doing our bit. On October 15, I know I can look back in the mirror and say Clothing the Gaps, did everything that they could to ensure that our people have the Voice enshrined in this Constitution forever.
LEADER OF THE GREENS, ADAM BANDT: Thanks, everyone for coming out. Look for the last few weeks, I've been joining thousands of others around the country at train stations, on phone banks, at shopping centres, handing out leaflets and there's a really exciting feeling. It's a lot of people are realising that this is a really important moment in this country and a real chance to take a positive step forward for First Nations justice. Now, polls are open and people can start voting yes, to ensure that First Nations people are recognised in our Constitution and have a Voice about the decisions that affect them. And I think the more people that I speak to, the more people understand the simple proposition that if you listen to people, then you're going to make better decisions. And people get that right, people get if you're making a decision about what's going to happen at your kids school, it makes sense to talk to the parents, because people understand that listening leads to better decisions and leads to better outcomes. And I'm going to be spending the next couple of weeks continuing to have those conversations with people as people start to switch on and realise that this is a moment that takes forward as a country where we listen to First Nations people and recognise them in the Constitution.
MEMBER FOR KOOYONG, MONIQUE RYAN: Thank you. This is an opportunity for all Australians, to take a moment to take an opportunity to move forward together in a way that will benefit all Australians. It's a chance for non-Indigenous Australians to show honour and respect to the people who were here 65,000 years before we got here. There's also a chance for us to improve economic outcomes, health outcomes, educational outcomes, outcomes for all Australians by doing things better by doing them more efficiently, more effectively and more collaboratively. This is a great opportunity for all of us, and so I say to people, if you don't know, please ask. There's lots of ways to find the answers to the questions that people are asking. And most of those questions, the answer to those questions are reassuring. The answers to those questions are things that will bring us all together in a way that will make us all feel better about ourselves, if we vote yes on October 14.
YES23 CAMPAIGN DIRECTOR, DEAN PARKIN: Well, these are the polls that the yes campaign have been really looking forward to. These are the ones that we've been focused on, when Australians get out and vote in force between now and the 14th of October. You'll see 50,000 Australians are signed up as volunteers on those polling booths encouraging Australians, making sure that people understand what they're voting on. And it's really important that people do understand that there is a very clear choice in this referendum. A yes vote gives us more things like Laura's wonderful business here at Clothing the Gaps - it gives Aboriginal success. If you get to see more Aboriginal enterprise and economic development, you get to see better outcomes in areas like education, jobs and health and housing. Understand also that a no vote takes us absolutely nowhere. It keeps us exactly where we are in some of those really important areas. For example, men, Aboriginal men in the APY land with the life expectancy of 48. A no vote, doesn't change anything there. It keeps us exactly where we are. So it's important to understand that there is a very clear choice here. Yes, for real progress, because as Adam said, when you listen to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on those issues that affect our families and communities, you get better outcomes. It's as simple as that. A yes vote gives that opportunity to all of us to achieve real change. Whereas a no vote keeps us exactly where we are, it takes us nowhere. And so when we get out there, and that's why we're so excited to see the polling booths open, the early voting booths open now, because it gives us the opportunity to have those conversations with Australians, because when they do hear that very simple message that we can achieve recognition through a Voice and we can achieve real change through a successful yes vote, they're very open and they're very curious, and they're very supportive of that. So just encourage all Australians to engage in the last 12 days of the campaign, and it's so important that we get out there and vote yes, and vote yes, for real change.
SENATOR JANA STEWART: I’d like to, I suppose, it is such a present reminder about what this conversation is really about. And it is about our next generation. It's about ensuring that our kids and our children, our children's children don't continue to inherit the statistics that First Nations people inherit today. And writing three simple letters on a ballot paper, putting the power in every Australians hands, you can do something about that over the next 12 days. You can absolutely change the trajectory of First Nations children in this country with three simple letters. And I remain increasingly optimistic that we wake up a better nation than we are today, on October 15. One that recognizes 65,000 years of history, in our Constitution 120-year-old document, with the Australia that we are today. It’s an incredibly important piece of work to get done. And a country that says to First Nations people we want to hear you, we want to hear what you've got to say about your lives and your children's lives. We want to continue to improve the country that we are today. I don't know any Australian that I've spoken to who thinks that the status quo is okay. And I hope that all that motivation, all those conversations that we've had over the last few months, really paid off, but I'm optimistic that it'll pay off on October 14, and I'm looking forward to celebrating a better nation on October 15.
REPORTER: So, like you said, millions of Australians are set to cast their vote. Do you think most people have made up their mind?
SENATOR MCCARTHY: Well, we certainly know that there are a number of Australians who are still considering which way they'll go. We're obviously going to keep working right up until 6pm on October 14, encouraging people who are unsure to still come our way. We don't want the status quo. We want to see our First Australians recognized. We want to reduce the high suicide rates of our people. We want to make sure the incarceration rate drops. We're going to know that our babies are born with healthy birth weights and all of that can only result with a Yes vote.
REPORTER: And I guess what do you think the next two weeks look like from the yes campaign?
SENATOR MCCARTHY: Well, I've just come from the Northern Territory. We know that mobiles out bush started last week. I was in Northeast Arnhem Land and Milingimbi, we saw a great turnout with the Tiwi Islands. There is incredible support by First Nations communities in the north. And we're calling on Australians across the country to support us as First Nations people in having an advisory body that is enshrined in the Constitution and a Voice to the Parliament that enables First Nations people to give advice on matters that impact them.