Every federal MP is expected to link arms with Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten next week in an unprecedented national declaration of "no more" to the scourge family and community violence.
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Mythbusting domestic violence leave
Will people fake domestic violence to get leave? How is it different to sick leave? Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Ged Kearney argues against common misconceptions about domestic violence leave.
Indigenous leaders hope the event will galvanise the nation in the way the national apology to the stolen generations did in 2008, prompting sporting, business and community organisations to develop their own action plans to stop violence.
Charlie King, who persuaded the Prime Minister to back the idea, hopes it will be repeated by Australian and Pakistani players at the Boxing Day Test and at all major sporting events.
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"This is going to be a very powerful thing – a moment that wakes the nation up and brings the nation together," Mr King, a Gurindji man and a child protection worker turned ABC sports broadcaster, told Fairfax Media.
"There is no better time to do this than now, when we are about to enter the festive season when there is usually a spike in family violence."
Rirratjingu dancers from the Gove Peninsula in north-east Arnhem Land will pay their own way to fly from Canberra to perform in a ceremony on Monday, November 28.
Aboriginal lawyer Josephine Cashman and academic Marcia Langton, who have been pushing the idea since last year, hope it will be a "watershed moment", one that will lead to a reduction in devastating levels of violence in remote Indigenous communities.
"We need to start rolling this out across the country now, but we can't do it by ourselves," Professor Langton said.
Mr Shorten backed the idea when it was put to him at the annual Garma festival in August, and agreed instantly when Ms Cashman and Professor Langton wrote to him and the Prime Minister more than a month ago.
But it was a personal plea from Mr King to Mr Turnbull that clinched the Prime Minister's support.
After addressing a round table discussion on family violence in Indigenous communities at last month's Council of Australian Governments meeting in Brisbane, Mr King says he was approached by "visibly moved" Mr Turnbull and seized the opportunity to press the case for the national event.
Mr King firmly believes it has the potential to be far more than a feel-good symbolic moment, and can be the catalyst for practical action across the nation.
His confidence is based on the campaign's success in a host communities including Ramingining, with a population of 800 on the edge of the Arafura Swamp in Arnhem Land, where he says community violence has been reduced by 70 per cent.
The idea for the campaign evolved from an encounter Mr King had with old Aboriginal men in the central western desert in 2008. After he explained the damage being done by men across Indigenous communities, they said "no more".
It was another group that suggested the linking of arms as a gesture of solidarity against violence and Mr King's idea to adapt a concept from Reconciliation Australia and promote Domestic Violence Action Plans in sporting clubs, communities and organisations.
Now sporting leagues like the Northern Territory Football League require affiliated clubs to have action plans, and many clubs and communities have embraced the idea, including consequences for perpetrators of violence. This weekend, footballers on the Tiwi Islands linked arms to demonstrate their commitment.
"We want more than just sporting clubs. We want business, the media, to start writing their plans," Mr King told Fairfax Media.
Mr King also wants to see action plans become part of employment agreements between remote communities and industry.
Mr Turnbull replied to Ms Cashman and Professor Langton on Friday, saying he was aware of the "great work being done by the No More campaign" and would be happy to lead his colleagues in linking arms in support.
"I am determined to keep the issue of family violence and its devastating impacts on our communities firmly on the public agenda," Mr Turnbull wrote.
Ms Cashman told the National Press Club last week she had been frustrated by the lack of support she had received since being appointed to the Prime Minister's Indigenous Advisory Council, where she chairs the safe communities subcommittee.
She also expressed doubts about the adequacy of the third action plan of violence that was approved by COAG, saying it failed to deliver to Indigenous Australians. Now she is hopeful that the event will be a turning point.
For his part, Mr King says the timing is right. "The greatest Christmas gift would be a festive season free from violence."