Anthony Albanese and Noel Pearson campaign for Yes in Sydney’s inner west

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indigenous leader Noel Pearson went back to the “hood” on Saturday to promote the Yes campaign and rail against ‘controversy bombs’.

Anthony Albanese and Noel Pearson linked arms on Saturday afternoon, rallying Voice supporters in the inner west suburb where the Indigenous leader once lived when he was a student.

With exactly four weeks to go until referendum polling day, the pair appeared together at Pocket Park in Summer Hill, not far from the street where Mr Pearson lived when he was a law student at the same time the PM was also studying at the University of Sydney.

Mr Albanese welcomed Mr Pearson back to his old “hood”.

He said he had earlier been welcomed in Coffs Harbour by the local Indigenous Consultative Committee, which he likened to the Voice.

“Coffs Harbour Council has one and Inner West Council has one, to listen to people about matters that directly affect them,” Mr Albanese said. “It struck me that that’s exactly what we are trying to do on a national level.”

Noel Pearson and Anthony Albanese at the Yes event in Summer Hill. Picture: Damian Shaw

Reiterating the theme that he has tried to hammer home in final sprint to the referendum finish line, the PM said the Voice was about “allowing advice to be given from people who are directly affected, Indigenous Australians, to parliament and to government on matters that affect their lives,”

“Just an advisory body, nothing scary. Nothing you’d be fearful of here,” he said.

“What we know is that up to this point, with the best of intentions, parliaments have done things for or to Indigenous Australians, not with them,”

Mr Pearson thanked his friend for taking the idea of constitutional recognition forward.

Earlier Mr Pearson told supporters in Redfern the campaign would need to avoid “controversy bombs” lobbed at them by the opposition, taking aim at comments made by senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price earlier in the week.

Last week the Opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman told the National Press Club Indigenous people weren’t suffering the consequences of colonialism but instead positively benefited.

“In these four weeks we are going to get the message out,” Mr Pearson said.

“We will be able to point out the things that are irrelevant.

“Controversy bombs are going to be let off all over the place as they already have been.”

It came as thousands are expected to descend upon Redfern on Sunday for Sydney’s Walk for Yes, featuring performances by Dan Sultan and Missy Higgins.

The march will start in Redfern and make its way to Victoria Park in Glebe.

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