Australian
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right), Minister for Indigenous
Australians Linda Burney (left) and former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal
(middle) exchange gifts before a press conference in Sydney, August 27,
2022.
Former US basketball star Shaquille O'Neal will help Australia's new government implement reforms for an Indigenous voice to parliament, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday, standing alongside NBA Hall of Famer.
Albanese's
center-left Labor Party government is seeking a referendum, needed to
change the constitution, on recognizing Indigenous people in the
constitution and mandating consultation with them on decisions that
affect their lives.
Details
on the so-called Indigenous voice to parliament will follow the
national referendum on the question, which the government wants to hold
in the parliament's current term.
"I'm
here in your country, whatever you need from me you just let me know,"
O'Neal told Albanese during a news conference in Sydney, before leaving
without taking questions.
Indigenous
Affairs Minister Linda Burney told the news conference that O'Neal had
requested to be involved and described the mission for change as "a
noble task."
Albanese
said O'Neal, a four-time NBA champion, had a track record in the United
States of working for social justice and "lifting people up who are
marginalized."
"We
want to build the broadest possible support and we want to engage with
people who can connect with young people in particular but with all
sections of society," Albanese said.
"Shaq has that record of ... bringing people together of different backgrounds which is consistent with our approach."
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