In 2004, AFL legend Michael Long set off on foot from Melbourne on a walk to Canberra.
When he arrived, he met with then-Prime Minister John Howard.
His message was clear: it was time to put Indigenous issues back on the agenda and raise the voices of Indigenous Australian communities.
Nineteen years later, Mr Long is repeating that walk, supporting a Yes vote in next month’s Australian Indigenous Voice referendum.
Mr Long set out from Melbourne Town Hall on Sunday, August 27, joined by supporters. Heading north on foot, the group arrived in Seymour on Wednesday, August 30.
Among the supporters joining him was former politician and Olympic medallist Nova Peris.
Ms Peris was the first Indigenous Australian to win Olympic gold and the first Indigenous female federal parliamentarian.
Both Ms Peris and Mr Long’s parents were part of the stolen generation.
Ms Peris spoke at the Seymour Trade Centre before the group started walking on Thursday, August 31.
“Michael and I, through our ability to rise above and achieve things in sport, have been given a platform. And we use that platform because our parents on the mission didn’t have a voice,” Ms Peris said.
“We don’t come from anywhere else except this continent, and the constitution is the birth certificate of this country ... You have left the first-born off. You have left the DNA off.”
As Mr Long travels from town to town, he shares his message of inclusivity.
He said the referendum was a step towards acknowledging the Uluru Statement of the Heart.
“The Uluru Statement of the Heart was presented on behalf of Indigenous people to the government, Labor and Liberal,” Mr Long said.
“It’s a gift to the nation. It’s about love, it’s about moving forward, it’s about coming together.
“People need to remember this is a referendum, not an election. So, you have to think with your mind and your heart. How do we see ourselves as a country?”
A constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament would allow Indigenous Australians to advise the Federal Government on matters that affect Indigenous people.
The advice would centre around matters like employment, education, life expectancy and mortality rates, which the ‘Close the Gap’ initiative has failed to address.
Mr Long said that since Mr Howard abolished the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission in 2005, the gap had widened.
“I hope we haven’t forgotten to care about our people, our nation,” he said.
“In the year 2023, people want things to change. It’s a step forward and a positive thing as a nation.”
“You want to leave this place in a better way when you leave, and that is part of our role.”
Having seen both beautiful and challenging aspects of Australia, Mr Long remains hopeful of what the country can achieve in the coming months and years.
He hopes that with support for the referendum, this will be the last long walk he will have to take.
“Even to do the walk again, it’s a blight. We took our eye off things we should be doing as a nation,” he said.
“We are a great nation … I’ve seen the goodwill of people coming together. It’s time we stood up and had those respectful conversations.
“I think this could be a historical moment in Australia’s history.”