I'd also begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we’re meeting today and pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging.
I acknowledge my parliamentary colleagues who are here today, Julian Leeser, and Senator Malarndirri McCarthy.
It is wonderful to share this day with you.
And wasn't that an uplifting video, a big shout out, and that is precisely what October 14 is about.
Lifting the nation up, taking out the request from Indigenous Australians, to just join with them on the journey towards reconciliation.
It is a hand out asking for it to be joined, asking for it to be joined.
And in Australia that's what we do when we meet each other we put our hand out and we expect it not to be ignored, we expect it to be joined and that's how we move forward together.
We can answer that generous and kind introduction by Indigenous Australians by joining with them and voting Yes on October 14.
We can vote Yes for a Voice, a non-binding Advisory Committee of Indigenous Australians, chosen by Indigenous Australians, to help us get better results for Indigenous Australians.
And I want to thank all the faith groups including the Uniting Church, who are all coming together, whether they be Christian groups, Islamic groups, Jewish groups, Hindus, all coming together in unison for support.
The different people, at different levels of government, I note the Mayor of the Inner West, Darcy Byrne, who's here with us today, local communities understanding the opportunity that this represents.
Because better results are so desperately needed.
And today I announce and confirm that if Australians vote Yes, in three weeks time, I will propose a broad Joint Parliamentary Committee, with co-chairs from Labor and the Coalition, to oversee the development of legislation for the Voice Advisory Group.
I indicated this when I met with Peter Dutton and David Littleproud, way back in March and I've confirmed that in a discussion that I've had with Peter Dutton, just over this weekend.
I think it's important that if Australians vote Yes, that we move forward together to put in place the legislation with as broad as support as possible, in order to show the same spirit that we're asking Australians to show by voting Yes, on October 14.
My dear friend, the Reverend Bill Crews has dedicated his life to helping people who are doing it tough.
Bill has never grown weary of doing good.
He's seen every form of human hardship and I love spending Christmas Day here with the full breadth of humanity.
But nowhere is the gap more clear than the gap which remains between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
And a vote for No is a vote for what we have now, the same ,to not change, to not search for something better.
And we know now we have an eight year life expectancy gap.
We know that an Indigenous young male is more likely to go to jail than university.
We know an Indigenous young female is more likely to die in childbirth than a non-Indigenous woman.
We know that there are gaps in education and health and housing.
We know that there are diseases that have been eradicated in non-Indigenous Australia that are still prevalent amongst Indigenous communities.
And we know that we need to do better.
And when we contemplate all of this, it is our Australian instinct for fairness, just as it is the Uniting Church’s tradition of compassion that drives us to ask, what can we do?
How can we help?
For the first time in generations there's a simple answer to that question.
You can help by voting Yes on October 14.
And just as importantly, we can convince our friends and fellow Australians to vote Yes too.
I noted yesterday, that decision of that great Australian artist, Kamahl, to change his mind.
He just weeks ago, said he would vote No in the referendum.
But he went out there, looked at the question, spoke to people about what it was about and declared, how could you not vote Yes? Once he had thought about it he had the courage to change his mind.
And I think that is what we want to ask people to do over these next three weeks, to concentrate on what is actually before the Australian people in the referendum.
Not some of the fear campaign about things that have nothing to do with this referendum.
Because that's what will decide this referendum, those one on one discussions, the power and advocacy of everyday people.
The respectful conversations that can be had, the ability you have to explain the importance and urgency of a Yes vote, the difference that it can make to people.
And with this campaign, the support in the community also speaks so powerfully to the fact that there is nothing for Australia to fear, nothing to fear by recognising Indigenous Australians in our Constitution.
The founding fathers, and they were all men, when they wrote the Constitution, actually put in there a provision, Julian's far more able than me to talk about the law, but they actually put in a provision so we can sign up New Zealand as the seventh state without a referendum.
But they didn't think of putting anything in there acknowledging the full history of this country.
And I do want to pay tribute to Julian Leeser, and the courage that he has shown over more than a decade.
Because this should not be about politics.
This is about life itself, as Bill Crews has said.
The fact that voting for an Indigenous agency on matters affecting them, will also mean greater responsibility that Indigenous Australians will have for the outcomes.
And that's why we see such broad support.
No downside for any of us, only upside.
Nothing for Australia to lose but there is so much for us to gain.
We gain 65,000 years of history, we gain the inspiration of the world's oldest living culture, we gain the hope that the next generation of Indigenous Australians are going to have an equal chance to make a good life for themselves.
And while fear may be a powerful emotion, it is no match for that.
Fear never takes a country forward.
Only hope and optimism and a vision for a positive future can take us forward.
Saying No gets us nowhere.
Progress comes from courage, it comes from love, it comes from compassion for one another, from kindness for those in need, from the best of our Australian character, and the best of the Uniting Church’s traditions.
So on October 14, we have a once in a generation opportunity to bring our country together and to take it forward together.
Because while our Australian story goes back some 65,000 years, it's not a story that's complete.
We, as Australian citizens get to write the next chapter.
And we can write the next chapter in a positive and optimistic way by voting Yes, on October 14.
Voting Yes for recognition.
Voting Yes for listening to Indigenous Australians about matters that affect them.
And for voting Yes for better outcomes for our first Australians.