KEY POINTS:
- Anthony Albanese has cited the republic referendum failure in a warning over the Voice to Parliament.
- The prime minister made the comments as he launched a pro-Voice ultramarathon campaign.
- Two major No camps have launched an advertising blitz.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has framed the Voice to Parliament referendum as a once-in-a-generation chance for Indigenous recognition, warning Australians against letting the perfect become the enemy of the good.
, with parliament to legislate how the body would function if the referendum is successful.
But Mr Albanese urged voters to learn the lessons of 1999, the last time Australians voted at a referendum, when splintered after division over the model taken to the referendum.
The prime minister noted that many pro-republic voters unconvinced by that model decided to "wait for the next one", but were still living under the monarchy a quarter of a century later.
Former politician Pat Farmer is running 14,000 kilometres in support of the Voice. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
"People need to recognise that, after such a long period of time and consultation, this is the opportunity that Australians will have ... If not now, when?
"I note that a number of people who say that this is not their perfect ideal, [are] saying they will vote yes [to the Voice], because they recognise that it is on now."
Mr Albanese was speaking in Hobart after launching a pro-Voice campaign by former Liberal MP Pat Farmer, who started a 14,000-kilometre run around Australia to raise support for constitutional change on Monday.
The event was also attended by , and Liberal Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff.
Mr Rockliff, the last remaining Liberal leader in any state or territory, said it was "high time we took responsibility" for generations of Indigenous disadvantage.
"This is about moving forward together as a nation with unity and purpose, and listening to our Indigenous Australians on the best way forward for our nation and for Indigenous Australians to live their best life," he said.
Mr Albanese was at pains to stress cross-party support for the constitutional change, also paying tribute to former NSW premier and Voice advocate Dominic Perrottet.
"This is a campaign that should be above politics, because it's about justice. It's about doing the right thing. It's about advancing reconciliation. That's why we're seeing such momentum," Mr Albanese said.
Announcing the Liberal Party would campaign against the Voice, Coalition leader Peter Dutton framed the body as the "Canberra Voice", and argued regional and rural bodies would be more effective at creating tangible outcomes for Indigenous Australians.
"Nothing can be further from the truth ... This is a voice to Canberra from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, showing them respect," Mr Albanese said.
Anti-Voice camps launch ad blitz
His comments came the same day as the two main groups campaigning against the Voice - Recognise a Better Way and Fair Australia - launched an ad blitz running on free-to-air television.
In a bid to woo undecided voters, the Yes campaign has reportedly approached a number of high-profile Indigenous athletes to make the case for change.
The No camp's blitz, headlined by businessman and former Liberal candidate Warren Mundine - a Bundjalung man - attempts to distinguish between what it frames as "elite" opinion and the views of "quiet" Indigenous Australians.
Warren Mundine has dismissed the Voice as another 'layer of bureaucracy'.
It would have the power to advise the parliament on issues particularly impacting Indigenous Australians, and would not have the power to veto parliament.
But Mr Mundine claimed on Monday the Voice would treat Aboriginal nations as a homogeneous group and put Indigenous Australians in a "more powerful position" than the broader population.
"Things that haven't been successful [in combating Indigenous disadvantage] is the crime rates, the drug and alcohol [problems]. They're local issues that you only can fix on the ground, and that's where they should be focusing," he told Channel Nine.
Mr Mundine characterised the Uluru Statement from the Heart, the result of extensive consultation with Indigenous communities leading into a national constitutional convention, as the brainchild of a "bunch of academics" and "powerful people who got together".
"What you're going to put another layer ... of bureaucrats, and that is the big problem I have with it," he said.
