Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a surprise visit to Shepparton on Friday for the Now & Forever concert, an event central to the Yes vote for the October 14 referendum.
“We have eight days to make the greatest country on earth even greater,” he said as he stood on the stage.
This is the second time Mr Albanese has been in Shepparton, and the first time many residents would have ever seen a sitting prime minister visit the city.
In an earlier conversation with The News he said “It is fantastic that such an event so central to the Yes referendum is being held in Shepparton”.
Earlier in the day, Mr Albanese also spent time in Wangaratta.
“I went to the early prepoll there,” he said.
The visit to Shepparton was a response to an invitation from Yorta Yorta musician Briggs, who organised the concert.
Mr Albanese said that despite not being able to stay for the entirety of the concert, he thought it was “extraordinary that the Australian creative community have been so supportive of a Yes vote in a referendum”.
“I wanted to lend my support by attending here,” he said.
The Prime Minister also emphasised the importance of the referendum and highlighted the wide support it has garnered, including from musicians, artists, and athletes.
“Last week, people like Nathan Buckley for AFL and Eddie Betts and others like Nathan Cleary from Rugby Leauge all came out and expressed their support,” he said.
Mr Albanese said that throughout the Yes campaign, he had visited several regional cities, including Horsham, Bendigo and Ballarat.
“One of the things I’ve done is to make sure I’m the Prime Minister for the whole of Australia,” he said.
The Prime Minister said the support for the Yes referendum went beyond the arts and sports communities.
“Yesterday we had a meeting of all of the major faiths,” he said.
“The Primate of the Anglican Church in Australia, the Catholic Church, Baptists, Uniting Church, Muslim Community, Hindus — all of the faith leaders expressed their support for a yes vote for the referendum.”
The Prime Minister emphasised the significant moment the nation was facing.
“It’s an enormous opportunity we have, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to recognise Indigenous Australians in our nation’s founding document and to give them a voice so that we can listen and get better results,” he said.
Being at the concert, Mr Albanese professed his admiration for the performing artists.
“I’m a fan of all of them,” he said.
The Prime Minister also highlighted that the event contributed to “building momentum for the referendum”.
“The Yes campaign is positive, is optimistic, is about hope and isn’t about fear. The No campaign leaves us nowhere,” he said.
He also urged the public to be informed about the referendum’s core questions.
“People should have a read for themselves, have a think about what it means,” he said.
The two primary components are the “recognition of the fact that Indigenous Australians were here for some 65,000 years and secondly just a non-binding advisory committee”.
“It’s just a positive request from Indigenous Australians that has come from them, just asking to be listened to because we know that what’s there now is not working,” he said.