As the peak hour traffic starts to build outside Kogarah train station on Friday morning, Chris Minns joins Linda Burney and a handful of yes campaign volunteers to hand out flyers in support of the voice.
The dog wearing a yes T-shirt is perhaps more suitably attired for the occasion than the New South Wales premier, who sticks with his usual corporate garb. But the constituents Minns shares with the federal Indigenous Australians minister don’t seem to mind as they stop for a handshake, a chat or a selfie.
Four weeks out from the referendum and Minns isn’t even sure his own state – which is home to the largest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in the country – is going to vote yes.
Speaking with the Guardian in his first extended interview about why he is supporting the Indigenous voice to parliament, Minns describes the proposal as safe, honest and “modest but important”.
Supporting the voice was a simple decision for Minns, and he’s a “little bit” surprised at the level of disenchantment and cynicism from some voters.
“I’ve looked at it closely and I’ve looked at all of the opponents and their rhetoric about why should it be defeated, how it is some kind of threat to our parliamentary democracy, but it’s not,” he says.
“This is a genuine opportunity to get a breakthrough.
“We’ve been waiting for some kind of movement in relation to Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians at the highest level for decades.”
Whatever the outcome, Minns has already vowed to push forward with a treaty process in NSW after taking the policy to the election in March.
While he’s worried about the impact of the current debate on the community, including his long-time friend Burney, he is urging people to engage.
“To lose this opportunity – I don’t know when it would come around again or what alternative you put in place to try and make progress towards reconciliation,” he says.
“There’s been a lot of rhetoric about whether this is a big thing or a small thing … it’s small in the context of our constitution but it’s massive for First Nations people.”
Polls so far aren’t looking good and the yes campaign has been accused of disorganisation and failing to tap into preexisting campaign machines and social media channels to get the message out.
Members of the federal campaign tell the Guardian they hope that can change in the next couple of weeks and will be strongly encouraging all supportive members of the NSW state parliament to kick their doorknocking operations into gear.
Among others, former treasurer Matt Kean, North Shore MP Felicity Wilson and environment minister Penny Sharpe have been actively campaigning. The treasurer, Daniel Mookey, has promised he’ll join them after Tuesday’s budget.
Opposition leader Mark Speakman has also come out in support of the proposal, unlike his federal counterparts.
“I thought that was a big move on his part to come out and publicly say that,” Minns says of his rival.
“He could have had an agnostic position or mirrored the federal Coalition. That was a gutsy call.”
When it comes to getting on the hustings, Minns says he’ll do “whatever I’m asked to do”.
“I’m a supporter of yes and I’m available to them, so to the extent that they ask me, I’ll do whatever they want,” he says, flagging a forthcoming appearance at the Walk for Yes event on Sunday that campaigners hope will draw a 10,000-strong crowd.
During their joint outing at Kogarah on Friday, Burney was caught on a hot mic telling Minns about the level of racism and bullying she’s witnessed so far in the campaign.
Speaking prior to that admission, Minns praised the way his friend had been able to stay positive in the face of growing negativity.
“You’re not going see her licking her wounds,” he says.
She’s been hardened, he says, in the “Bear Pit” – the name given to the state parliamentary chamber where Burney served before heading to Canberra.
“I love the fact that she just keeps going and notwithstanding the fact that she’s been subjected to vicious attacks, she just doesn’t seem to care,” Minns says. “She just keeps going.”
Despite a sense of momentum for the no campaign, Minns believes there’s still time for a tidal shift.
“There’s a lot going on in the country, in the world, and it’s understandable that people have got a lot on their minds,” he says, adding that the voice represents the “next step in social progress”.
“It’s all to play for.”
Despite his strong positive position on the proposal and initial shock at the negativity, Minns understands why some people might not want to change a system that has served them well.
“Constitutional change is really hard and we do have the best country in the world. Why would you change it, given how fragile democracy is, and particularly our kind of democracy?” he says.
“These constitutional changes aren’t easy. History has shown that. But I think this is an extremely safe, honest way of properly engaging First Nations people.”
He hopes undecided people can connect with a message from leading yes campaigner Noel Pearson that Minns paraphrases as the want for Indigenous Australians to take responsibility for Indigenous policymaking.
“That is that is going to be a persuasive argument for a lot of voters in the next couple of weeks,” Minns says hopefully.
