"This weekend, Australia will write a new chapter in the long struggle for Indigenous rights. The world is watching.
"No matter a Yes or No, we must confront some fundamental questions as a nation in two days' time. Do we believe the oldest living culture on earth should have a say on its continuity? Is this the final chapter of a 20-year debate on constitutional recognition?
"As an Aboriginal person, it feels impossible to digest the freight train of messages coming towards us each day. Most of it is about us, without us.
"This year, it has been routine to switch on the television and watch as two non-Indigenous people have an entire conversation about you. It can feel like the Blackfellas are in the lobby, while non-Indigenous Australians in the boardroom decide our fate.
"There is despondency and fear running through communities right now. It is sobering to hear elders say the racism they're seeing in 2023 is among the worst they've witnessed.
"Indigenous people deserved so much better than the debate we were subjected to this year: the misinformation, death threats, conspiracy theories, the racist nonsense and everything in between. The worst of Australia has been on display."
