PM tears up: ‘There’s no alternative’

Anthony Albanese has become emotional during a ceremony where Indigenous women presented him with his own copy of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

The Prime Minister returned to the birthplace of the statement on Tuesday afternoon as part of his final push before Saturday’s final referendum vote on the Voice to Parliament.

“I came here when I became leader of the Labor Party and committed right here with Linda Burney to hold a referendum in our first term for a constitutionally enshrined Voice to our parliament, and that is what we are doing,” he said.

“I believe that Australia can rise to the occasion between now and October 14.”

Speaking in South Australia before he jetted off to central Australia, Mr Albanese reiterated his preparedness to walk away from the Voice as the Coalition questioned if his leadership could survive the defeat.

“I do hope that Australians accept this invitation from the First Australians on Saturday and in the lead-up because a no vote is a saying that what we have now is just good enough and we can just keep doing the same,” he said.

“There is no alternative on the table. This is the option that has been asked for, requested by First Nations people themselves, after a long process, most of which occurred under the former Coalition government.”

More than three million Australians have already cast their ballot. Newspoll, published by the Australian on Monday, put the No vote at 58 per cent to the Yes camp’s 34 per cent.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who spent the day campaigning in South Australia, argued the Prime Minister’s decision to withhold detail about what Australians are voting on put the nail in the coffin of the referendum.

“Australians aren’t stupid and the Prime Minister is treating them as such because he thinks this thing gets through on the vibe but Australians are not silly,” he said.

The future of Mr Albanese’s leadership was also called into question. Mr Dutton claimed there were “rumblings” within Labor about the Prime Minister’s performance due to the Voice’s haemorrhaging support.

“The fact that he has turned 65 per cent support for the Voice when it was first announced into something more akin to 35 per cent. That’s a remarkable achievement over the course of the last 16 months,” Mr Dutton said.

But Mr Dutton was called out for using the success of East Arnhem Land under the leadership of the late Yunupingu as an example of almost why the Voice wasn’t needed.

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney demanded the Opposition Leader to apologise, saying he “has no right at all to use the name of Yunupingu in that way.”

“I am shocked at that statement. Yunupingu spent his entire life fighting for his people, fighting for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across this country and also advocating a Voice to Parliament,” she told reporters.

“Quite frankly, Peter Dutton should apologise for taking the name of Yunupingu in vain.”

The government has repeatedly stressed details around how the Voice will operate would be worked through by politicians on both sides should the referendum succeed.

Asked directly if the Yes had sacrificed “heart” over the detail, Mr Albanese defiantly told Sky News: “The detail’s there.”

“The detail’s there in the wording being put forward here,” he said.

Mr Albanese will greet ultra-marathon runner and former Liberal MP Pat Farmer at Uluru on Wednesday morning as he ends a 14,000 kilometre, six-month run for the Voice.