“Constitutional reform will make us a better nation - more at peace with our past, and more confident and united as we face the future together. ”

“I'm a big supporter of this. It should be a unifying moment for Australia. It should be a healing moment for Australia. And that's what I want to bring about. ”

“Until that (constitutional recognition) is addressed, then we truly can't go forward as a people, as a nation, as Australians, as a whole. ”

“I think we have a duty to do the right thing. So I'm encouraging you, as a person you know is pretty conservative, to move yourself to the position where we move this nation forward as one. ”

“Recognition of the first peoples in the Constitution of a country starts to send a message that you are valued, you are important, that we want to respect you, and we want to deal with the things that have caused us division and discord in the past. ”

“What a great thing for Australia it would be if, at last, we recognised Australia’s first people in our Constitution - it's part of who we are as a nation. ”

“A lot of Aboriginal people have missed out because they were excluded - they weren’t included - in some parts of our history. How can you feel like a citizen if you are not written up in the Constitution as being here? ”

“This has been a long time coming. If it happened tomorrow, it wouldn't be too soon. It should have happened quite some time ago. ”

“This is much more than a question of symbolism, this is a question of national wellbeing and national identity. It's about coming to terms with who we are as a nation and deciding who we want to be in the future. ”

“We want to be recognised. It’s just as simple as that. We’ve never been recognised. We are the first Australians, okay? And it is time we were recognised.”

“Constitutional Recognition would allow the first chapter in the Australian story to be acknowledged. Our history is part of the shared story of every Australian and our indigenous heritage is something that enhances and enriches every one of us.”

“Constitutional recognition goes beyond symbolic significance and will have practical consequences for equality. It's a way of acknowledging and respecting indigenous Australians' distinct cultures, identities and custodianship of the land.”

“I want people to be more heartful about the simpleness of this. Let’s not make it too difficult. Recognition means a lot. It’s true. It’s necessary. It’s about acknowledgement and respect.”