 Australians across the country rallied on September 17th in support of a yes vote in an upcoming referendum on Indigenous voice. Thousands participated in rally scored march for yes held in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Newcastle, among other locations. I absolutely support the voice because bring change to this country otherwise things stay the same. You know, a no vote is not good for the country. A yes vote brings change and that's what the country needs is change. Big time. Prominent political leaders including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese participated in the rallies calling for people to vote yes next month. In the referendum set to be held on October 14th, Australians will decide whether or not to recognise the Indigenous voice to parliament. The proposed Indigenous voice to parliament or the voice will be an advisory body to the parliament and the government on matters concerning Indigenous peoples in Australia. The body will be created to be representative of the Aboriginal and Torres Islanders communities in Australia. I support the voice because I believe it is about time Indigenous Australians are recognised in the constitution. I believe that an advisory body should be enshrined at the constitution so the next government can't just take it out. I absolutely support the voice and the recognition of Aboriginal people in the constitution. I'll be voting yes for sure because I'm really proud to live in a country with a long Indigenous history, more than 60,000 years. The oldest continuing culture on earth and I think that's a really rich heritage that we can all share. Once approved, the vote could lead to a landmark constitutional amendment recognising Indigenous peoples as the first peoples of Australia. The demand for the voice and the recognition of the Indigenous peoples as the first inhabitants of Australia has been a long-standing one. The Uluru statement of 2017 endorsed by Indigenous leaders and activists at the First Nations National Constitutional Convention was the first to outline the voice. Apart from the voice, the Uluru statement at the time also called for a constitutional recognition of the first peoples. Additionally, the 2017 statement also called for the creation of a Makarata Commission to oversee Aboriginal treaties and Indigenous relations with the state and for truth and reconciliation. I support the voice because I think it's about time Indigenous people are recognised in the constitution. I think it's important that we close the gap. We know that Indigenous people are much worse off when it comes to life expectancy, health outcomes, education outcomes and everyone just wants equal opportunity in this country and that's what this country stands for and I'll be voting yes to close the gap. The ruling Labour Party and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had promised a referendum for the voices part of the electoral campaign in 2022. The government announced the framework of the referendum and the voice in March 2023 based on extensive consultations with Indigenous groups and recommendations from the referendum council. But the voice faced massive opposition from the Conservative and right-wing Liberal National Coalition and has become a target of disinformation attacks from reactionaries. The March for years comes at a time when nationwide support for the voice has been intended by the relentless disinformation campaigns by right-wing groups. A constitutional amendment in Australia requires a clear majority at the national level, along with majority support in at least four of the sixteenths. This double majority has created a very difficult benchmark to cross. Of the 44 amendments that were put through a referendum, only eight have been approved so far and more than a century. Recent opinion polls have shown that support for the voice has continued to alarmingly fall behind support for the no vote since majority. In certain states like Queensland and Western Australia opposition for the voice has gone beyond 60% according to recent polls, raising worries among supporters of the voice. In case of a failure, the Albanian government might try to introduce the voice through a legislative route, setting aside the question of constitutional recognition of the first people. Advocates for the voice and the recommendations made by the referendum council have also called for creation of the Makrata Commission which does not require a constitutional measure. But neither the Prime Minister nor the Labour Party have taken a clear stand on that.