#WalkForYes rallies draw thousands of supporters
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News & Views

#WalkForYes rallies draw thousands of supporters in Australia and overseas

by Olivia Cleal |

#WalkForYes rallies in New York City.

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Australia’s capital cities over the weekend in support of the Yes campaign for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

Politicians, musicians and other high-profile Australians headed the rallies, calling on the country to vote Yes in the upcoming referendum to constitutionally enshrine a First Nations’ advisory body. Around 30,000 volunteers from Yes23 organised and made the events happen.

The Yes rallies come four weeks out from voting day, October 14, as campaigning from both sides begin ramping up.

Here’s how Australia’s major cities participated in the #WalkForYes demonstrations.

Naarm – Melbourne

Federation Square is the central location for protests and demonstrations in Australia, and over the weekend, organisers of the #WalkForYes rally believe 60,000 people walked from the State Library of Melbourne to the rally hot-spot.

Although Victorian police say the final number was believed to be around 30,000, attendees of the #WalkForYes rally were still fighting for a space to stand in solidarity for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

Minister for Indigenous Affairs Linda Burney attended the rally, after speaking out earlier in the week against the Shadow Minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price for saying colonisation had a “positive impact” on Indigenous Australians.

At Federation Square this weekend, Burney urged Australians to “answer the call” from First Nations people to vote Yes.

“It is truly overwhelming to look out over this crowd and see you. To know where your hearts are, to know where your spirit lives,” she said. 

“For 65,000 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been speaking 363 languages, but no voice. In 27 days, you have the power to do something about it.”

Former Labor environment minister and Midnight Oil’s frontman Peter Garrett performed and spoke at Federation Square. 

“Countries only get to make decisions like this once in a lifetime,” he said.

“And it’s your decision. I think all of us know that this cannot be wasted. It must be understood as one of the most important things that we, as a fair nation, can ever do.”

Eora – Sydney

In 1992, Paul Keating gave his ‘Redfern Address’ at Redfern Park, calling out the violence and dispossession of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that remained unacknowledged at the time.

Now, 31 years on, thousands gathered at the iconic Sydney park in support for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

The New South Wales’ state premier Chris Minns attended the event at Redfern Park on his 44th birthday. The large crowd welcomed him singing ‘Happy Birthday’.

“There has never been a better opportunity to take a giant leap forward when it comes to reconciliation,” he wrote later in a social media post.

“So on October 14, you know what to do.”

Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins performed at Redfern Park and said she was “honoured” that Yes23 organisers asked her to be there.

“The Yes campaign is a grassroots Indigenous-run campaign from the very beginning,” she said in between songs. 

“I’m just on board to sing my little songs and do anything I can to support in some small way.”

Ngunnawal – Canberra

The nation’s capital saw around 4,000 people standing in solidarity in front of Parliament House, calling for a Yes vote.

Australian musician Josh Pyke performed at the event. Pyke has worked with the Indigenous Literacy Foundation for more than 12 years and has also worked closely with Minister Burney. 

“I’m grateful for the insights, leadership and strength I’ve been privy to on this important moment in our country’s history, and I’m voting YES,” he wrote in a post on social media.

Independent Senator David Pocock was also there on Ngunnawal country and was impressed with the turnout from Canberrans in support of the Yes vote.

“The referendum is an opportunity for Australia to accept the offer from this continent’s First Peoples to take a step forward with recognition and a Voice,” he wrote on social media.

Everywhere else – Australia and beyond

Around 20,000 people were thought to have participated in the rally in Meeanjin/Brisbane, Queensland’s capital, including veteran Australian journalist Kerry O’Brien.

There were also protests in Whadjuk/Perth, Kaurna/Adelaide and Nipaluna/Hobart, where artists like Paul Kelly, Emma Donovan, John Butler and more performed.

But the #WalkForYes rally wasn’t just limited to Australia. In New York City, hundreds walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. Many held signs saying “Vote Yes”.

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