The Long Walk was born in 2004 out of frustration that nothing was changing.
That Aboriginal voices were being ignored.
Attending another Aboriginal funeral brought into unavoidable focus the disparity in this nation.
This lit a fire to do something more.
To shine a light on the unacceptable conditions for First Nations People.
So Essendon Football Club champion Michael Long decided to walk.
To walk to Canberra to get the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people back on the agenda.
Leaving home on November 21, 2004, he set out on his trek.
This action stirred something in the hearts of people – both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal.
People joined him on the road, some walking for an hour, some for a day, some for the entire journey.
There was encouragement, support and assistance all along the way.
Local people, people from all walks of life, acknowledge the need to do something to work for a reconciled and united Australia.
Back in 2004, while in Violet Town, Mr Long penned a letter to the then-Prime Minister John Howard.
It is worth reading his words.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years on the sporting field, it’s that Australians believe in fair play. I think that you now have the opportunity to show good sportsmanship by acknowledging that we Aboriginals are essential players in the make-up of the national team.
As Indigenous Australians, we want nothing more than any other Australian citizen wants: a safe place to live, a fair opportunity to work for a decent living and for our children to be guaranteed health, education and a secure future. We ask you to go back to the scoreboard to look at Aboriginal life expectancy and unemployment and to work with us to kick some goals on these issues.
In football, many different teams make up the code. They each have their own identity and traditions. There will always be differences between clubs, and this is celebrated and respected. We share a common bond that unites all Australians.
As the leader of this country, Prime Minister, you are the only person who can give permission to the Australian people in communities across Australia to embrace us. The Australian people will follow your example and embrace our culture and concerns when they are guided by the strong leadership that only you and your government can provide.
We all wish to see the appalling conditions of Aboriginal people improve, and we want to play our role in achieving outcomes through self-determination.”
Nineteen years later, Mr Long was moved to walk again.
Nothing had changed, except there was now an invitation — an invitation in the form of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
An invitation to the Australian people to make a change to allow First Nations people to have a say in matters that impact them and their communities.
Last week, Mr Long again wrote a letter to the Prime Minister of the day.
Here are his words.
“Dear Prime Minister, back in 2004, having walked nearly 200km from Melbourne to Violet Town, we sat down to write a letter to John Howard, the prime minister of the day. In the letter, we asked Prime Minister Howard to look at Indigenous life expectancy and employment outcomes.
We asked for self-determination – for Indigenous people to have a say on the issues that affect their lives.
And later, when we finally met with him in Canberra, we asked: “Where is the love for our people?”
In the 19 years since that meeting, the gap between non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australians has remained open. In some areas, it’s widening, according to the Productivity Commission’s latest report.
That’s why we set out from Melbourne again 19 days ago.
A YES vote in the referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament will give Indigenous people the self-determination that we asked for all those years ago. It will offer this nation a new approach to closing the gap. And it will allow this nation to embrace the fullness of our history.
In 1788, the lie of terra nullius said that Indigenous people did not exist.
And, in 1901, the constitution – this nation’s birth certificate – did not acknowledge Indigenous people as the firstborn of this land.
We’re asking this country to see and listen to Indigenous people – just as the Australians we’ve met on the road have done.
We have covered many kilometres these past couple of weeks, taking as many steps as our weary legs will allow.
We’ve walked in Kilmore, Shepparton, Wagga Wagga, Yass, and so many other towns.
At a primary school in Glenrowan, 100 young hands rose instantly at the chance to ask us questions.
We have 60,000 years of history and culture to share with them and with this nation.
That is the promise of the voice. The words are there in the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country.”
We found ourselves in Violet Town again, this time on a chilly Friday morning. Bacon, eggs and a sea of smiling volunteers filled us with energy and hope.
Under the stars in Wangaratta, we yarned with ultramarathoner and former Liberal MP Pat Farmer, 11,000km into his historic Run for the Voice. His voice helped us to share ours.
There, we made a plea to King Charles for support. We know that he, as a human being, cares about the issues facing Indigenous peoples.
Today, we will begin the final leg of our journey to Parliament House.
In the letter of 2004, we informed John Howard that he alone, as the prime minister, could give permission for people across this nation to embrace the culture and concerns of Indigenous Australians.
The Australian people, we wrote, would follow the example of their Prime Minister.
One of your first acts as the 31st Prime Minister was to give Australians that permission and an opportunity via this upcoming referendum.
At the Garma festival in 2022, the late great Yunupingu asked about your commitment to the Uluru Statement from Heart.
He asked: “Are you serious?” And in your last conversation with him, he told you: “You spoke truth.”
We thank you for that, and we implore you now to have Heart.
There is plenty of negativity about this referendum. Former Prime Minister Howard has asked Australians to “maintain the rage” against this voice.
But this isn’t about rage. It’s about love. It’s about listening. It’s about giving Indigenous people power over their destiny so their culture can be a gift to this country forevermore.
So, Prime Minister, as we near Parliament House and referendum day, we know you will continue to walk this journey with us.
This is our opportunity. We have to take it.”
As Mr Long and his co-signatories wrote, this IS our opportunity.
It is about recognising our shared humanity, about fairness and imagining the sort of country we wish for our future generations.
A country that can accept the gracious invitation of the Uluru Statement from Heart to walk together in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.
A country that can open its Heart and listen to the modest request of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for a say in decisions that affect their lives. It’s such a simple proposition.
A country that chooses love over rage.
Nothing for us to lose and so much to gain.
To read the full letter from Michael Long to then-Prime Minister John Howard in 2004, visit www.walkthetalk.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Long_Lettter_to_Prime_Minister_December_2004.pdf
To read the Uluru Statement from the Heart, visit: https://ulurustatement.org/the-statement/view-the-statement/