6 | Annual Performance Statement to consider the Uluru Statement and the Voice proposal and associated referendum through a human rights lens. The resources and associated communications aimed to provide accurate guidance for voters and to also remind Australians of the importance of respectful dialogue throughout the public debate. The resources and education campaign urged respectful and constructive engagement in all conversations about the referendum and harm minimisation principles were embedded throughout. The resources were made available on the Commission website in early August 2023 around three months prior to the referendum. There were more than 95,000 views of the resource webpages and 42,617 unique downloads of the resources. Analytics showed that both the resource kit and accompanying social media tiles were incredibly well received by the public. Communications channels included social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram), Electronic Direct Messages (EDMs), web content, opinion editorials and news media channels, resulting in widespread engagement. Many Commission stakeholder organisations and individuals also shared the Commission’s messaging through their own digital and social media channels (including EDMs with their respective audience), and the news media took a particular interest in the harm minimisation principles embedded throughout the project. Even after the Referendum, the resources continue to be accessed. Six months after their release the referendum resource related pages received 131,264 views and 49,739 downloads – making them the most engaging resources on the Commission’s website in 2023. Free+Equal Conference The Free+Equal Conference was a major event delivered on 6-7 June to mobilise support for a Human Rights Act across a range of sectors and human rights advocates. More than 700 delegates joined more than 60 diverse leaders, experts and advocates from across Australia for a keynote delivered by former High Court judge and international jurist The Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG and UK based barrister and human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson. In their joint keynote address they urged the government to follow through with the parliamentary committee’s recommendations, including for a Human Rights Act, and for all political representatives to unite to support human rights protections in Australia. Delegates also heard from a wide range of speakers from across civil society, legal, education and business sectors. They drew on their expertise and lived experience to strengthen the case for further human rights protections in Australia. They talked about giving voice to the voiceless by enshrining all our human rights in a common tool for justice. Sessions covered key human rights-related issues such as preventing racism, improving children’s rights and youth justice, exploring the intersection of business, technology and human rights, and 40 years of the Sex Discrimination Act. A curtain-raiser for the conference was the Rights On Time public panel discussion held on the evening before the conference and facilitated by Adam Spencer - comedian, writer, broadcaster and media personality. The panel featured the Commission’s President together with six prominent Australians; Waleed Aly, Jennifer Robinson, The Hon Michael Kirby, Sisonke Msimang, Tanya Hosch and Nazeem Hussain. The panel debated future human rights scenarios and how a Human Rights Act would protect people and communities in a hypothetical – but entirely possible – 2034. The event was a major undertaking and part of the Vivid Sydney Ideas program. 44