A rare moment of campaign unity over racism in Australia appears short-lived following comments by a cabinet minister.
Both the prime minister and opposition leader were in agreement on Saturday that racism still existed while acknowledging room for improvement.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten kicked off the conversation by calling out the "insidious nature of stubborn racism" and saying there were pockets of systemic racism still alive in Australian life.
The prime minister agreed there was room to do better, telling reporters, "If you talk about Australia as a whole, are we free entirely from racism? Clearly not."
But Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the notion Australia had an issue with entrenched racism was a "very negative view".
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"To make a blanket statement like that is very disappointing," he told reporters in Canberra.
As the debate about racism unfolded on the campaign trail, race-fuelled violence broke out in the streets of Melbourne when anti-racism protesters clashed with anti-Islam extremists.
Against this background the leaders were set to join star former footballer and indigenous rights activist Michael Long on a walk in support of Aboriginal people.
Both have expressed their desire to see Aboriginal people recognised in the constitution.
Mr Turnbull reiterated his belief that it could happen next year, but stressed the amendment must be in words that were meaningful and which could "sing" to the first Australians.
Meanwhile, Mr Shorten stepped away from his strong rhetoric when quizzed on possible compensation payments to the stolen generation, saying Labor was not contemplating such a financial scheme.
