STEPHANIE BORYS, HOST: The request for a voice to Parliament was outlined in the Uluru Statement from a Heart back in 2017. So six years on, what does this day mean to you?
NT SENATOR MALARNDIRRI MCCARTHY: Look, today is one that is filled with great relief in one sense, and deep gratitude in another. Six years is a long time, but it's actually been a lot longer for so many of our elders and some of whom have passed away as well. And so it was quite an emotional day. It's a pivotal moment that begins the official campaign. But I think for many people in the room gathered today and those watching, no doubt across the country, it was about the stirring of hearts and the reality that this is the opportunity. If Australians would like to accept the invitation to say yes, to see First Nations people in the Constitution recognized through a voice to the Parliament.
BORYS: You have six weeks to convince Australians to vote yes. How hard is that going to be, do you think?
MCCARTHY: Well, we've known from the beginning that referendums are tough to win in our country and if anything, we just see this now as the staters gun to the, you know, the last quarter, you know, I refer to it as a bit of a grand final now, Stephanie. We see the finish line in sight. We know we've got to get out and about everywhere. We've got volunteers right across the country who'll be knocking on your doors, talking to you, listening to you wherever you are across Australia, reaching out, obviously in languages, you know, we've still got quite a lot of the different languages of First Nations people in our country plus multicultural Australia. And we even saw on I think the ABC did the story on the concerns about the deaf community. So we obviously still need to make sure everyone is receiving an understanding of what this is about and to have their say at the ballot box.
BORYS: So on that and focusing around the fact that you're from the Northern Territory, the ABC has also travelled to very remote areas in the Northern Territory where a number of members of the community don't know about the Voice or hadn't heard about it until our journalists asked, What do you do to turn that around? How do you make sure that everyone, including those specifically, that this will effect, know exactly what's going on?
MCCARTHY: Well, it's the same as any other Australian, really. We have to keep talking to people. People have their lives to live. They've got things to do. They've got kids to get to school, they've got issues about shopping and the cost of living. With First Nations people, they're always being consulted on different events or activities that might be happening on their land or their region that they need to be involved with. So we're very attuned to the fact that people have everyday issues of their lives and we've got to keep reaching out as the yes campaigners to them and hope for an opportunity to be able to have that time with them to explain where we're going, where we'd like to go and what the referendum is about.
BORYS: Is there enough time to get to all of these remote communities to ensure that they hear the message?
MCCARTHY: Well, we're going to see certainly a lot more activity in the next six weeks now that the prime minister has called the date. But I do understand that there is still obvious areas for people to go to. In terms of the Australian Electoral Commission. We know that NIAA has been going out to communities across Australia to explain what a referendum is. So we know that there has been activities and we'll just keep reaching out to those communities who don't fully understand and you'll see that with all Australians ramp up now that the Prime Minister has called the date.
BORYS: Social media can be very useful, but at times it can also be quite hurtful for some people. The Government has also announced more than $10 million in funding for mental health for Indigenous communities. Have you personally had any comments made against you that are racist? Have you noticed a change in who's writing on your social media, for example, or further afield to that? Are you hearing from the community that racism has stepped up a notch?
MCCARTHY: Well, I certainly noticed it throughout the debate between the two bills that we had to pass in the Senate and in the House generally in regards to the Constitution and in regards to the referendum. And so throughout that time, I did see an increase, a massive increase in a very negative kind of, you know, trolling, if you like, on my social media. But I would have to say, Stephanie, that in recent weeks, just getting out and about and talking to people that I think most Australians see that a lot of that is robotic kind of conversations, that there seems to be a bit of a strategy to have that negativeness go out. And most Australians I think look for optimism and happiness and you know, we want to enjoy this campaign and that was really the message that came through even today when we launched it, that we want to see a country where we can come together, you know, we do want to do this. And I think the, you know, the Premier of South Australia reiterated some comments that were said by Noel Pearson, You know, we want to look at this with the simple words of faith, hope and love, you know, to bring people together. We don't want to see hatred in this. We want to see a lot of, you know, generosity of spirit and an understanding that some people will vote yes and some people will vote no. But that's okay. It's a democracy.
BORYS: The opposition today has reiterated, alongside leading no campaign of Warren Mundine, that this referendum is divisive. What do you say to that?
MCCARTHY: This referendum is critical to our country's opportunity to change the way the First Nations people are seen and the ability and the opportunity for First Nations people to be heard. That's a good thing for our country. And I do encourage all Australians to look deeply into this. Read the Uluru statement from the heart and see the generous nature in which that request has come to all of us and here's our opportunity to make it happen.
BORYS: Just finally, the Prime Minister in his speech today said that having a voice to Parliament would save money because it would make sure the funding actually reaches people on the ground. No more waste, he said, better results. Can you explain in a practical sense how the voice to Parliament would save government money?
MCCARTHY: Well, I would certainly see it as cost effective, Stephanie, because, you know, we know that closing the gap, an area that I certainly have to be responsible for in terms of the health outcomes, working with Mark Butler as assistant Indigenous health minister, that you know, at the moment I'm traveling the country to look at where we have to roll out renal dialysis machines. We've got 30 units of four chairs that we need to do that in. I was out at Wilcannia, you know, in northern New South Wales, in Victoria and Shepparton, Echuca as well. These are health matters that affect us every single day, irrespective of the referendum. But we hope that with a positive outcome, with a yes vote, we will see the closing the gap issues start to diminish and the next generation of Australians will not have to be burdened with that.
BORYS: A lot of work to be done over the next six weeks and further afield to that. Malarndirri McCarthy, thank you for joining us on Afternoon Briefing.