Liberal, National and teal voters across New South Wales will be targeted by campaigners for the Indigenous voice to parliament, as its biggest advocates urge voters against following party politics on the issue.
Advocates will push the values underpinning the proposal and the need to listen to Indigenous people over political leaders for the next three months, after polling suggested support had softened.
Speaking in the Liberal-turned-teal seat of Wentworth on Sunday morning, Aboriginal leader Noel Pearson said the issues were bigger than the two major parties and there “need be no two tribes” for the referendum.
“If you’re a Liberal, you can vote yes. If you’re a National, you can vote yes. This is not about Liberal or Labor. This is about Australia,” he said.
“You can do the right thing by Australia without abandoning your party. You stick with your party at the next federal election … That’s when the two tribes go to war. In this referendum, there need be no two tribes. The tribe here is Australia.”
“I’m not so much interested in the political parties as the voters for those parties,” he said.
Pearson appeared alongside independent politicians Allegra Spender and Alex Greenwich, as well as North Shore NSW Liberal, Felicity Wilson, at a yes event hosted at the North Bondi surf club.
Pearson told the crowd it was up to them to advocate for the voice and a yes vote that he believed would help reduce racism against Aboriginal people in Australia.
“We’re going to love them on the beaches,” he said, to cheers from the 200-strong crowd.
“We’re going to love them at every front door, in every street and every railway station for the next three months.”
Wilson – a member of the Liberals for Yes campaign – said her stance supporting the voice was in line with her party’s beliefs in equality and liberty for all.
“In no way can we look across our country and say that we have equal rights and liberties for non-Indigenous and Indigenous people,” she said.
“[This] can unite people regardless of who they vote for on a ballot paper.”
Wilson said she would “love to tell all of my colleagues, all of my friends to vote yes” but said it was an individual decision.
The NSW Liberal leadership has told MPs it was up to each of them to decide their position. Party leader, Mark Speakman, is yet to declare a position.
On Sunday he said he had been “hearing from various groups and individuals, and reading materials”.
“I expect to be able to announce my view soon,” he said.
High-profile NSW Liberals have been campaigning for the voice alongside Pearson, including former state treasurer Matt Kean and former federal frontbencher Julian Leeser.
Pearson said he expected to be campaigning soon alongside Wilson in her lower north shore electorate.
Local federal MP Allegra Spender has been actively campaigning for the voice for months with Wentworth for Yes volunteers.
She told the crowd she was initially “intimidated being a non-Indigenous person being out there really publicly advocating for the voice” but felt it was her duty to advocate for change.
“It’s up to all of us,” she said.
“If this is about Australia’s future, it’s not just about our indigenous brothers’ and sisters’ future. We all have the responsibility to drive this.”
Greenwich also urged people to cast aside their usual political alliances for the cause.
“We have to welcome and encourage that diversity to get this across the line because this is not something that has been proposed on party political lines,” he said.
“This is something that has been asked of us by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”
