Nine years ago AFL legend Michael Long set off on a powerful quest to put the plight of his people back on the agenda.
Read More“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. ”
JULIA GILLARD, Prime Minister“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. ”
TONY ABBOTT, Opposition Leader“Until that (constitutional recognition) is addressed, then we truly can't go forward as a people, as a nation, as Australians, as a whole. ”
ARCHIE ROACH, Singer and Songwriter“As musicians, recognition from our peers is important to us. As Aboriginal Australians, recognition from our Constitution is even more important." ”
MANDAWUY YUNUPINGU, Yothu Yindi frontman“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. ”
BARNABY JOYCE, Nationals Leader in the Senate“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. ”
PATRICK DODSON, the "Father of Reconciliation"“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. ”
CHRISTINE MILNE, Greens Leader“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? ”
SHIRLEY PEISLEY, 1967 Referendum campaigner“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. ”
JACK THOMPSON, Screen legend“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. ”
NOEL PEARSON, Cape York Institute
