Pat Farmer has got behind many causes in his lifetime, but none have been as important to him as the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
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The 61-year-old ultra-marathon runner and former Liberal MP made his way to Albury on Sunday, September 3, as part of his 14,400-kilometre Run For The Voice.
He started the day from Henty and arrived at Alexandra Park about 3pm where he was greeted by more than 70 "yes" supporters lining North Street.
"This is a great reception and I've had a fair few people come out from Albury and run with me on the road that couldn't be here as well," he said.
"I've been encouraging people to show through actions their support for the 'yes' campaign.
"It's easy to sit back and just say 'I support it', but to actually get out there and be seen, to be wearing a T-shirt, to be walking around and to be talking about it is bigger."
Mr Farmer started the journey on April 17 from Hobart and trekked around Tasmania before flying to Perth to make his way around the mainland from May 3.
![Ultra-marathon runner and former Liberal MP Pat Farmer arrives at Alexandra Park in East Albury as part of his more than 14,000-kilometre Run For The Voice on Sunday, September 3. Picture supplied Ultra-marathon runner and former Liberal MP Pat Farmer arrives at Alexandra Park in East Albury as part of his more than 14,000-kilometre Run For The Voice on Sunday, September 3. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/beau.greenway/ef63c54f-24c9-4a0e-9d45-7a9586b3b6db_rotated_270.jpg/r0_0_3024_4032_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Having run for human rights issues in Vietnam, India, Uganda and the Middle East, it was his daughter who inspired him to make an effort for the Voice.
"She said 'Dad, why don't you do a run for the Voice? You've done a run for so many other things in the past.' I thought about it and she was 100 per cent right," he said.
"I've run for all these other charitable causes, but the charities are still always going to be there, and the need is still going to be there.
"If we can get this across the line, this will change future generations for the better and empower them and allow them to be able to take control of their own destinies. That's life changing.
"That's a moment in time where instead of going backwards, we're actually moving forward and we're able to make a huge difference from that point on. That's why this is so important to me.
"My job is to try and convince those older people in my category and encourage them to think twice about this one simple point.
"Please not let this issue be left to our kids. We've got one shot at doing this in our own lifetime, let's leave a legacy for them and let's get it right."
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Albury Wodonga for Yes spokesperson Dom Somers congratulated Mr Farmer for his efforts to spread the message and bring the run to the Border.
"It's at the right time, we've got a date (for the referendum) and momentum is building," Mr Somers said.
"This is a really great opportunity for us to come together now and think about how we want to tackle the campaign from here."
An event for The Long Walk will held in Albury on Tuesday, September 5.
![A crowd of around 70 people greeted former Liberal MP Pat Farmer in Albury yesterday as he arrived in the Border city as part of his Run For The Voice campaign. Picture supplied A crowd of around 70 people greeted former Liberal MP Pat Farmer in Albury yesterday as he arrived in the Border city as part of his Run For The Voice campaign. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/beau.greenway/74c5e89e-c25a-4cee-ac27-8a7cce4cc4a3.jpg/r0_762_4032_3029_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Mr Farmer will make his way to Melbourne before he heads west to Adelaide and finishes at Uluru on Wednesday, October 11, just three days before Australians cast their vote on Saturday, October 14.
"I've done about 150 days on the road out of 190 and I've got about 42 days left to do," he said.
"It sounds like a lot to anybody else, but to me, I'm on the home stretch."
Albury councillors Jess Kellahan and Stuart Baker were among the convoy of people running alongside Mr Farmer as he arrived at Alexandra Park.
At its June 26 meeting, Albury Council unanimously supported a "yes" vote by endorsing the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which backs a reform of Australia's constitution for a Voice to Parliament for Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander peoples.
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