Labor senator Patrick Dodson has made a final appeal to voters to support the Voice to Parliament, warning that "our integrity as a nation is what's at stake here".
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Speaking remotely from Broome at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Senator Dodson - who is recovering from cancer treatment - assured voters that "there is nothing to fear with this referendum" and described the Voice as an opportunity for Australia to find unity, courage and hope.
"... that vote will determine what we as a nation are going to stand for. What are we going to stand for, in relation to the first peoples of this country," he said.
"Are the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people going to be at the table or picking up the crumbs? As we have been for the last 200 years. Will we be at the table making decisions or picking up crumbs that fall off the table."
The senator said that voting "no" is "not a neutral matter", appearing to hit back against the anti-Voice campaign's core line that "if you don't know, vote no".
"... Voting "no" is to say "no" to the recognition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and to deny them a rightful place in our constitution and to allow them an advisory body that can talk to the Parliament and to the executive on matters their communities are concerned with."
"If you are fearful about the confusion, vote "yes". Don't vote "no" because "no" takes you nowhere," he later added.
Asked how he would feel if the "no" campaign succeeds after Saturday's vote, Senator Dodson said that the country will need to seriously reflect on its actions and decide how it will engage with First Nations peoples.
"We need to look in the mirror and say who the hell are we? What have we done? And what are we going to do about it?," he said.
"It's not just a question for the Parliament. It's a question for the Australian people as it will be for the government.
"... The 'no' campaign will take us backwards. That to me is the sorry part of the outcome for the 'no' campaign... You still need to engage with the Aboriginal people. They're not going away, they're not disappearing. They may be a bit more stroppy than I am when the come to deal with you."
