Stepping out for yes votes

AN ultramarathon runner campaigning for a yes vote in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum arrived in Ballarat over the weekend as part of a national trek.

Since taking the first steps of his 14,400-kilometre journey in Tasmania in April, Pat Farmer’s run, expected to conclude at Uluru in early October, brought him to town on Sunday.

The former Liberal Party politician was welcomed by a throng of people lining Doveton Street from the corner of Sturt Street to Mitchell Harris Wines.

He said it’s important he does all he can to encourage people to back the constitutional change.

“The yes campaign has been a bit slow on the mark and I think that’s what’s given the no campaigners their bit of traction earlier on,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter who starts the race but who finishes it. This is probably the most important race Australia can be in.

“It’s one where we can finally put a lot of the issues from the past to rest and move forward together.

“Using my footsteps as a thread like this and speaking at functions in the mornings and evenings in different places is bringing this to the communities.”

Mr Farmer said which way to vote shouldn’t be a political question.

“This really is a human rights issue,” he said. “A lot of my time has been about breaking barriers from politicians looking to use this as a political platform.

“What I’ve found from this is people are flabbergasted that the question is such a simple question.

“It’s about closing the gap and giving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people a voice on issues that affect them.”

With Australians set to have their say on the voice on Saturday 14 October, Mr Farmer is running about 80 kilometres per day to reach his goal on the Wednesday just prior to polls opening.

Following Tasmania, he headed to Perth, and moved clockwise around the continent. He arrived in Melbourne last Saturday, before setting off towards Ballarat.

Federal Member for Ballarat, Catherine King, who has also been campaigning for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament since late February, welcomed Mr Farmer.

She said his stop will bring more local attention to the Yes 23 campaign.

“Having Pat here, he’s been running a long way just today and it’s been very visible to people so they’re going to be thinking about the referendum and what they’re going to do,” she said.

“It raises awareness about it here. Pat’s been talking to people from the length and breadth of this country, talking to them about why he’s voting yes and why they should vote yes.”