A nationwide day of action seeks to rally support for a campaign to recognise Australia’s Indigenous people in its constitution in advance of a referendum later this year. The government says it is a once-in-a-generation chance to repair relations with the country’s Aboriginal communities.

Council of the City of Sydney

Thousands rally around Australia in support of Voice

This is the face of the Yes campaign. Thousands rallied in parks and city centres across the country on Sunday, showing support for greater recognition of Australia's First Nations people. It's one of those moments I think where I personally want to be on the right side of history and I think the history of Australian politics around Aboriginal culture is quite abysmal. We have the great privilege as Australians to have such an ancient community, continuous culture in our nation and it's important that they're recognised. Parliament passed legislation clearing the way for a referendum later this year. Australians will vote on whether the constitution should be amended to recognise Indigenous Australians for the first time and to establish an advisory body representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders guiding federal parliament. The Yes campaign declared Sunday a national day of action. Today is all about Australian people going out to the people they know in their workplace, homes, sporting areas and saying this is nothing to be scared of, this is a just thing, this is a thing that nation mature. Opinion polls show support for the Yes campaign has fallen below 50%. The federal coalition party has already declared it will vote against the constitutional change. Some within the Aboriginal community have also questioned whether the proposed law known as the voice will be enough to address the serious problems facing Indigenous communities. We are going backwards, we are going backwards in Indigenous health, we are going backwards in Indigenous life expectancy, we are going backwards in the rate of Aboriginal people, black people in this country being locked up. Things are on that slippery slope backwards, we have got to try something else. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people represent around 3% of nearly 26 million Australians. The federal government says the referendum will be a once in a generation chance to give Indigenous communities a greater voice at a national level. For the Yes campaign to be successful they will need a majority in four of the six states. They will also need a national majority. The latest poll suggests they are ahead in just two states. The referendum is expected to be held in October. Sarah Clark, Al Jazeera, Sydney.

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