Anthony Albanese has declared the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament will not be kicked down the road and the "urgency of this moment" towards constitutional change will not be denied.
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In a speech delivered on Saturday to the Garma Indigenous cultural festival in Arnhem Land, a copy of which has been seen by The Canberra Times, the Prime Minister insisted there would be no delaying or deferring this year's referendum on the question of enshrining an Indigenous advisory body in the constitution.
The Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is not attending despite a brisk urging from Mr Albanese. As foreshadowed, the Prime Minister did not reveal the date that the proposition would be put to Australian voters.
But he rallied supporters of constitutional change by telling the nation's largest Indigenous gathering that voting "yes" represented a "once-in-a-generation opportunity for real, overdue and much-needed change".
"And that is why today I can promise all of you - and all Australians - there will be no delaying or deferring this referendum," Mr Albanese said.
"We will not deny the urgency of this moment. We will not kick the can down the road. We will not abandon substance for symbolism, or retreat to platitudes at the expense of progress."
The declaration comes as some "yes" supporters, such as Liberal senator Andrew Bragg, have responded to falling support for the Voice by suggesting a delay to next year may assist a successful vote.
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But the Prime Minister again stated "If not us, who? And if not now, when?" and he has recommitted to implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full, which means voice, truth, and treaty.
"In the months ahead, just as we will continue to make it clear what voting 'yes' will achieve Australians should be equally clear about what voting 'no' means: it is more of the same," Mr Albanese said.
"Not only rejecting the opportunity to do better but accepting that what we have is somehow good enough."
He detailed the risk of "no" in accepting eight-year life expectancy gaps, twice as high suicide rates, and "shocking" rates of disease, and he put it directly to Mr Dutton.
"Surely no leader can honestly say this is good enough," the Prime Minister said. "Surely no leader can pretend 'it ain't broke, don't fix it'. Surely no leader can imagine that change is not desperately and urgently needed."
The Opposition Leader on Thursday called Mr Albanese "insincere" and "incompetent" and said people were not aiming to vote "no" because they don't want to support Indigenous Australians.
"They will vote 'no' because they know this Prime Minister is wilfully withholding detail from them," Mr Dutton told Parliament.
That's a reference to doubt the "no" case, and the opposition, are raising over a successful Voice referendum, particularly over what it would mean for the treaty and truth elements of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
Mr Albanese in turn regards the talk of treaty as a tactic to sidestep debate on the Voice proposition.
"My government supports the Uluru Statement from the Heart and its call for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice in our constitution, which is what the coming referendum is about," he is expected to say.
The Prime Minister also insisted the Voice was about advice and was a "vehicle for real and practical progress".
It is the same event at which last year the Prime Minister revealed the key concepts and the first "starting points" of the referendum's proposed question.
Indigenous leaders are joined by political and corporate leaders at Garma, but sadly not Yolngu leader Yunupingu, who died earlier this year.
Mr Albanese also used the speech to address the "no" proposition that the Voice could be created through legislative means rather than the current constitutional proposition.
"The reason Aboriginal and Torres Islander people are seeking recognition - in Yunupingu's words - 'through serious constitutional reform' is so that the Voice can't simply be abolished with the stroke of pen," he said.
"So it will have the stability to plan for the long term, for the generational challenges we are facing but also the generational progress we can make, for lasting national unity."
He urged supporters to encourage others, to have a "conversation between generations".
"There are no guarantees of success, but that's not a reason to delay. It's why we have to hold to the courage of our convictions," the Prime Minister said.