‘Pooches for Yes’: Albo converts canine campaigner during a lightning visit to Norwood

The PM has labelled a call by Peter Dutton for a second Voice referendum as extraordinary, saying the time to move forward is now.

The Prime Minister has labelled “extraordinary” Peter Dutton’s call for a second referendum if the Voice vote fails to pass.

At a press conference in Adelaide on Thursday, Anthony Albanese was asked about the Opposition Leader’s suggestion for what to do if the Voice referendum fails.

“Well, I find Peter Dutton’s response quite extraordinary,” he said.

“He has called for a second referendum, then a few days later said no one wanted a second referendum, and then this week has reinforced that he does want a second referendum.

“We have an opportunity to move forward on October 14.”

Mr Albanese said “this is an issue where there has been bipartisanship for a long period of time”.

“John Howard went to the 2007 election saying there should be a referendum them on Constitutional recognition, saying it was unfinished business in our Constitution,” he said.

“And indeed it is. Australians have an opportunity to do the fair thing on October 14. I think Australians are fair. It is fair that we recognise our history didn’t begin in 1770 or 1788 or indeed 1901. It goes back some 65,000 years.”

Earlier, Mr Albanese said the Voice to Parliament would not directly affect the lives of non-Indigenous Australians.

In an interview on FIVEaa on Thursday morning, Mr Albanese said it would instead help Indigneous people and “make the lives of some of the most disadvantaged people that much better”.

Mr Albanese said the Voice would be a “constitutional mechanism” to achieve better results than previous solutions by engaging directly with Indigenous people

“There’s been a lot of waste over the years in Indigenous Affairs, a lot of money with the best intentions have been thrown at this but it’s not achieving the results that it should and will get better results when we actually talk to people directly,” he said.

The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, at the Yes23 Campaign Launch in the northern Adelaide suburb of Elizabeth. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

Mr Albanese said the referendum was an opportunity for Australians to complete “unfinished business” and encouraged voters to focus on “two simple things” when they head to the polls next month.

“Its about recognising Indigenous Australians in our Constitution, essentially saying in our nation’s founding document we didn’t begin in 1788,” he said.

“And secondly, they want recognition through an advisory committee [because] we know that why you listen to people, you get better outcomes.”

Despite recent news polls showing an increase in the No camp, Mr Albanese remained confident the upcoming referendum would be successful.

“We’ve had a broad range of people showing support for the Yes campaign, I’m confident that when people focus on what the question is [they’ll vote Yes].”

On Wednesday, the Prime Minister pushed the Voice’s cause during a lightning visit to Norwood – meeting a canine campaigner.

The Prime Minister, whose female cavoodle Toto has a dedicated social media account, met five-year-old Australian cobberdog Eddie during a streetwalk on The Parade.

“Now we’ve got Liberals for Yes, the campaign for Yes23, Labor for Yes and pooches for Yes,” Mr Albanese said, while enthusiastically patting the pooch.

The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese meets Eddie the dog along The Parade in the eastern Adelaide suburb of Norwood. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

South Australia is considered a crucial swing state for the October 14 referendum on the Voice to Parliament and Constitutional recognition of First Nations people.

Mr Albanese emphasised the state’s importance by highlighting the Yes23 campaign’s launch at Elizabeth on August 30, plus Premier Peter Malinauskas’s support.

“I love coming to South Australia, we launched the campaign here. Mali, of course, is a great supporter of the campaign. And South Australia has, I think, such a proud history – the first place in the world to give women the vote,” he said, during an impromptu press conference at Norwood Place mall.

“And at that time, there was some opposition to it. There was a bit of a fear campaign going back all those years ago, just like there was a fear campaign about marriage equality, about the apology to Stolen Generations.

“When this is done, after October 14, people will look back and see there’s no downside – only upside – and wonder why it wasn’t done earlier.”

Anthony Albanese brought the Yes campaign to the eastern suburbs on Wednesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

Mr Albanese’s whistlestop visit generated conversation about the referendum at the travel agency where cobberdog Eddie has “worked” since he was a pup.

Eddie’s owner and manager of Travel Associates, Krystal Savage, 36, from Fullarton, said it was a nice surprise to see Mr Albanese and chat about the Voice to Parliament.

“He was really nice and wanted to know all about Eddie and if he would be voting yes,” she said.

“Eddie is our unofficial mascot and I’ve been bringing him into the office since he was a puppy so it was nice we could meet the Prime Minister today.”

Ms Savage said she was unsure sure how she would vote but the Prime Minister’s visit encouraged conversation in the office.

“I’m still doing more research but [the visit] actually helped open up the conversation by hearing all different sides,” she said.

Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese meets locals along The Parade. Picture: Brenton Edwards

The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese and Yes23 campaign director Dean Parkin, centre, meets local resident Rebecca Ravesi along The Parade in the eastern Adelaide suburb of Norwood. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

Mr Albanese was joined on the Norwood street walk Yes23 campaign director Dean Parkin and Liberals for Yes co-leader Sean Gordon, for a walk along the Parade.

“People want fairness out there, we’ve got Cathy Freeman out there today. Australians cheered on Cathy Freeman, what Cathy’s messages is today; she just wants Indigenous Australians to have the opportunity to have a Voice,” he said.

“It’s a very simple proposition, it’s just a recognition and then it’s for an advisory committee so that we can listen to people who are directly affected by decisions,

“Because if you do that, you’ll end up saving money, you’ll get better results, you get the money to go to where it will make a difference.”

Originally published as ‘Pooches for Yes’: Albo converts canine campaigner during a lightning visit to Norwood