Allen Madden, Gadigal Elder: Good morning my name is Allen Madden, Gadigal elder. For my first song. Welcome to country to me is always an honour and a pleasure. Just to give you a little bit of an insight into where you are and who we are. Prime Minister, Ministers, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to beautiful downtown Redfern, the capital of Sydney. As we've all welcomed, firstly, I'd like to acknowledge our First Nations and traditional owners of the lands that you may have come from, or work upon and pay my respects to all our Aboriginal elders, all elders, past and present. Also pay my respects to all our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters, from whatever Aboriginal or island nation you may have come from welcome to Gadigal. And to all our non-Indigenous brothers and sisters, a very warm and sincere welcome to you to Gadigal. No matter where you've come from, whether it be across the seas, across the state, or across town, once again, a very warm and sincere welcome to you to Gadigal. And as I've mentioned many times before, was, is, and always will be Aboriginal land. Only three things surer than that, coming, taxation and going. It's an honor and a pleasure to be here today to welcome one and all to Gadigal. Gadigal is one of twenty-nine clans of the Eora nation. The Eora nation is bound by nature's own. The Hawksbury River to the north, the Nepean to the West and George's River to the south. And in between those three mighty rivers is the Eora Nation and in that nation, there are twenty-nine clans, and the clans land we're on today is Gadigal. On behalf of the Gadigal mob of the Eora nation, once again, a very warm and sincere welcome to you to Gadigal. And as you travel across these traditional lands and waters may the spirits of our ancestors guide, look over you, and keep you safe. So once again on behalf of the Gadigal mob, welcome, welcome, welcome. Thank you.
Blake Solly, South Sydney Rabbitohs CEO: On behalf of the South Sydney Rabbitohs I'd like to thank Uncle Allen for his traditional welcome and also acknowledge the traditional owners of the land and pay my respects to elder's past, present and emerging. Before I get to the statement that the club would like to make today I'd just like to make two points about the club's position. Firstly as a club we are extremely proud of what we believe to be unique connection with the Indigenous community. Fifteen per cent of our full time staff are Indigenous, Souths Cares runs transformational programs on a daily basis across education, employment, training and health for the Indigenous community. And we've created an environment where we believe Indigenous players and staff can not only belong but thrive and make a massive contribution to the success of our club on and off the field. Secondly, I'd like to talk about the process that the club undertook to get to the position that we want to state today. Thirty of our staff, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, players, non-players, coaches, emerging leaders in the senior management team met some weeks ago to undertake an education process to understand that the issues that we all will vote upon over the coming weeks in this referendum. After that education session, we were then able to undertake a debate and a discussion about the club's position on this referendum. It was an emotional discussion, it was very moving, and it was very considered. And that was how we got to the position that I'm going to read today. But there were two very important things that we wanted to say. One was that we respect every Australians right to make their decision in this referendum. But secondly, it was a plea from all the staff involved in that process that every Australian educates and informs themselves about how important this issue is, and the issues at play in the referendum. This was a bottom up position from the club, by the staff, for the staff and then ratified by the board. So it gives me in many ways, great honour to read our position today. After consultation with our players and staff, the board and management of both the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Souths Cares, support the recognition of First Nations people in the Constitution and a Voice to Parliament. We're extremely proud of the inspirational programs and initiatives, Souths Cares undertakes to contribute to improved outcomes for First Nations people and communities every day. We hope that this change to the constitution will ensure that progress is achieved where it is most needed. This is an important moment in the history of our nation. And we strongly encourage our members and supporters to gather more information to form their own position on this referendum. We recognise and respect that every individual Australian has the right to make their own decision. Equally, we recognise and respect the oldest living culture on the planet, and believe First Nations people should be recognised in Australia's constitution with a Voice to Parliament on issues that directly affect our first Australians, thank you. I’d like to call on Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia.
Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese: Well, thanks very much, Blake. And I want to thank Uncle Allen for the welcome to country and also acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we're meeting today. I want to acknowledge JD and the coaching staff, Blake and Nick, head of the management of South Sydney and also AJ, Alex Johnson representing the players here today and other people as part of this wonderful South Sydney community. It is wonderful to be here at the spiritual home of South Sydney. More than fifty years ago, I used to sit with my mum up in that far corner and watch my heroes run around. My heroes in those days were people like Eric Simms, now one of my constituents in the electorate of Grayndler. My mum sewed on to the back of my South Sydney football jumper, the number one to represent one of, certainly the best goal kicker I've ever seen, and one of the greatest players I've ever seen. It was a great South Sydney team in those days. But when you sat on the hill here at Redfern oval in about 1970, and around that time, the recognition of Indigenous Australians and their role as the oldest continuous culture on earth was not always given the respect that it deserved. It was a rough place the hill at Redfern oval, including a rough place when it came to comments that were made about racial issues. Australia has come a long way. Now when we have the acknowledgement of country prior to the NRL Grand Final, AFL Grand Final and other events, what we have is respect. Respect in this nation of the great privilege that we have of sharing this continent with the oldest continuous culture on earth. But that still is not reflected in our nation's founding document. Our nation's founding document, written as it was back in the lead up to 1901 by the men who gathered, chose to put in that constitution a clause to allow New Zealand to join as a state of Australia, but didn't mention the fact that our history did not begin in 1788 when the first fleet arrived here. That is, makes it an incomplete document, and we need to acknowledge that as a nation. We are giving Australians over the next seven days the opportunity to write the next chapter in the Australian story, a chapter that acknowledges our history. A chapter that also acknowledges that we still have been unsuccessful in closing the gap in so many areas. Only four out of nineteen Closing the Gap targets currently on track to be met - so we need to do something different. For 122 years, Canberra has made decisions on behalf of Indigenous Australians. Indigenous Australians gathered at Uluru in 2017, and after being requested by the former Coalition Government to determine what form recognition should take, they decided that they wanted recognition with substance, something that would leave a lasting legacy, something that would make a practical difference to close the gap. When we have an eight year life expectancy gap, when we have gaps in education and health and housing, where there's a greater chance of a young Indigenous male today going to jail than to university. We need to do better. So this referendum is about just two things. One, recognising the fact of our history, the fact that our history goes back some 65,000 years, and acknowledging that. Acknowledging the first peoples of this land. And the second is the form of that should be simply a non-binding advisory committee. Nothing to fear here, just a committee able to make representations to government, and then parliament and government still being the decision maker. But Indigenous Australians being able to be listened to for their views. And I want to congratulate South Sydney, consistent with their fine history that they have, particularly in recent years with their engagement with Souths Cares, for the process they've entered into here of listening to Indigenous players, community members and supporters before arriving at this decision that they're declaring today. Because when we listen to people, we get better outcomes because you get buy in, and you also get engagement and greater efficiency. There'll be less waste if decisions are made with input from Indigenous Australians. We want to do things with Indigenous Australians rather than for them, or to them. It's an important distinction, and that's what this referendum is about. The opportunity that we are giving every Australian with one vote, one value - to write Yes. Everything to gain, and nothing to lose. So after this today, I'll be heading Marrickville Town Hall to cast my vote today for Yes. Because I know, I know that we need to do better. And that's why people who've examined this proposal, whether they be the faith groups that myself and Rachel Perkins met with on Thursday, the faith leaders of the Catholic, Anglican, Baptist, Uniting Church, Greek Orthodox Church, Islamic community, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs. All of the faith groups, major faith groups in Australia all advocating a Yes vote. The sporting codes - National Rugby League, AFL, Tennis Australia, Cricket Australia, rugby, all advocating a Yes vote. Community based organisations, ACOSS, the Salvation Army, other groups all advocating a Yes vote. The people I've been with, yesterday I was in three states, people in Brisbane, people in Lakemba, people in Shepperton, people in Wangaratta, all coming together to take up this opportunity. And the alternative is not one. The alternative is just more of the same. The alternative is keeping things the same. No, which leads us nowhere. We need to do better. I thank South Sydney for their advocacy. I thank Sydney for the ongoing work they're doing practically on the ground with Souths Cares, and their engagement, particularly with Indigenous young people to provide them with pathways and with opportunity. We have a once in a generation opportunity. This is the first referendum that's been held this century. They don't come around that often. So I do urge people to vote Yes in the coming seven days. And I'd ask Rachel Perkins to now follow me.
Rachel Perkins, YES23 campaign spokeswoman: Thank you, Prime Minister. Well, this is another great milestone on the journey to unity. We are so proud to stand alongside the Rabbitohs, thank you so much for your support. It's a grassroots club, they are heroes to our community, and this is a moment of unity. We're seeing it right here demonstrated here in the heart of Sydney. They are just another organisation that has joined the campaign for Yes. We have 1500 organisations around the country who are walking together on this journey. With only a few days to go we're asking Australians to join with us, because this is what unity looks like. This is how we can bring our country together. And we are on the threshold about to do that. It's a momentous occasion, and I'm just so pleased to be here and thank you again, to all the club players, all the old players who are here today in the community. So thankful, thank you very much.
Blake Solly: Thank you, Rachel, I'd like to call to the microphone CEO of Souths Cares, Alicia Parker-Elrez and Aunty Norma, local elder.
Alicia Parker-Elrez, Souths Cares CEO: You won't hear much from me at the end of the day, our protocol is we follow our elders, and it's the voice of our elders and the direction that they lead that we do follow at the end of the day. Look, I'll have to be honest, I'm quite straight up. You know, I was a bit on the fence about it just because of the gotham of policies that have been put into place in the past that probably haven't, you know, I hate the I hate the term, Close the Gap, and haven't helped in that. You know, we've still got a huge representation in incarceration, we've still got our kids being removed, we have a whole wide range of issues. But for me, I had to make the best decision for me and my family. I speak on behalf of myself, I don't have the right to speak on behalf of everybody. I speak on behalf of myself and my children and I needed to make the best decision for them. And I thought that, you know, having a seat at the table was going to help us move forward. Look, nothing's going to change overnight, it's shown over time. But you know, I feel like this is a step in the right direction for acknowledgement of our people, and ensuring that we do have a say on things that affect us. You know, we've been, for a long period of time other people have dictated what's best for us where we really haven't, you know, we talk about a Voice, we march, we do all these things, but really how much is actually listened to? So the opportunity for us to have a seat at that table and actually move forward in unity is very important to me and my family.
Aunty Norma Ingram, Local Aboriginal Elder: Bujari Gamarruwa. I'm Norma Ingram, I’m a local Aboriginal Elder. I'm actually Wiradjuri, anybody knows Cowra and the Lachlan River and the Galare River, that's where I grew up, the youngest of eleven children, but I lived in Redfern for most of my life. And I've seen Redfern grow. I've seen where we had a lot of Aboriginal people living here, and many were moved out, moved away from Redfern, and it's changed now. But Redfern is our heart here as well. And I was a delegate at Uluru, and I loved it. I love being there with so many different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters. Being there, making decisions to say we are giving you a solution. I was here when Paul Keating gave his Redfern speech, My parents were fighting for Aboriginal citizens rights in 1938. That journey has been a long one. Since 1788, since the tall ships came in, quite frankly. And that journey has been long, long and hard. We've marched from Redfern Park in 88, we've marched from Redfern Park, down to the city, and we keep on doing it. I now seen that we've got a great Prime Minister who says, I’m here for you, what you've decided as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, that's what we will push forward. So I'm grateful for that because the journey has been long and hard and this is another step in that journey. When we look at the incarceration rate, so we look at the low births, when we know how many of our babies and children under the Stolen Generation were taken away, in the 1940s was when we first got the votes as Aboriginal people in the electorates, we weren't counted in the Constitution - none of that happened. Because, you know why? Because when the tall ships came in, they didn't even see us as human beings. We weren't counted because they didn't see us as human beings. We now have a chance, and I love the chance, and I don't think anything like this is going to happen in my lifetime. And I've done the fights, I've done the matches, I've done all of that – Tent Embassy, whatever. I don't want my grandkids and my great grandkids to go on doing that and fighting those battles to try and get people to understand. Yes, you do have power over us because we're only three per cent of the Australian population. You do have power over us. So we have to walk hand in hand as all Australians because we need you, and really, quite frankly, you need us as well. And so let's get in there. Let's get behind the team. You know, thank you Albo, a good man. Thank you for going with us and just saying this is a good thing to do. This is a good thing not just for us as Aboriginal people, I think this is a good thing for all of Australia because then we can see that we're grown up, so vote Yes.
Blake Solly: On that note, I'd like to thank everyone for attending today. Appreciate it's a very important moment for our club. Very humbling to be able to give that position statement today. And as I said, I encourage everyone to educate themselves over this last seven days before the referendum and we'll be supporting the recognition and the Voice to Parliament next week. Thank you.