‘Stand with me’: Cathy Freeman declares her support for the Voice
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Australian sporting icon Cathy Freeman has thrown her weight behind the Voice referendum and will be used by the Yes campaign in promotion leading up to voting day on October 14.
In arguably the most high-profile Indigenous endorsement, Freeman has recorded a minute-long video message imploring Australians to “stand with me” and “show our support for Australians who need it the most”.
“I can’t remember a time when change has felt so urgent. When momentum has been so strong. From small towns to big cities, something is in the air. I know all Australians feel it too,” she said.
“We have the chance to be part of a moment that brings people together, to work hard for something that we can all believe in.
“To stand together … to recognise Indigenous peoples in our constitution for the very first time, to give our kids the very best start in life, an equal start in life. And to open our hearts and change our future.
“I’m voting Yes, and I am asking that all Australians do too. So please stand with me and write Yes on October 14.”
Freeman, 50, is best known for her 400-metre gold medal winning a race at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, at which she wore a famous full bodysuit.
Freeman, who is not regularly in the media and rarely backs social causes, has a mother who hails from the Kuku Yalanji people of far north Queensland. Her father was born in Woorabinda and is of the Burri Gubba people of central Queensland.
Cathy Freeman after winning gold at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.Credit: Getty
Yes23 campaign director Dean Parkin said Freeman had chosen to reiterate the core purpose of the Voice: listening to Indigenous Australians.
“Cathy knows what it takes to bring the country together and it’s fantastic to have her alongside side us in support of Yes,” Parkin said.
“Let’s stand with Cathy, let’s stand with indigenous Australians, let’s stand together and vote Yes.”
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