Voice to parliament referendum fails in defeat that Indigenous advocates will see as a blow to progress towards reconciliation

Australians have resoundingly rejected a proposal to recognise Aboriginal people in its constitution and establish a body to advise parliament on Indigenous issues.

Saturday’s voice to parliament referendum failed, with the defeat clear shortly after polls closed.

  • WhirlybirdEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Why does an advisory body belong in the constitution?

    • ⸻ Ban DHMO 🇦🇺 ⸻English
      1·
      1 year ago

      Why do voting rights belong in the constitution? So a government cannot remove it when it becomes inconvenient, same reason

      • WhirlybirdEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        Voting rights and an advisory body aren’t even remotely the same thing.

        • ⸻ Ban DHMO 🇦🇺 ⸻English
          1·
          1 year ago

          I didn’t say they were the same thing. How about this: Why shouldn’t an advisory body to recognise Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as the first people’s of Australia be put in the constitution?

          • WhirlybirdEnglish
            1·
            1 year ago

            Why should it? Why do they need a constitutionally protected advisory board that’s not guaranteed to be gutted by the government of the day and has no power?

            • ⸻ Ban DHMO 🇦🇺 ⸻English
              1·
              1 year ago

              The symbolism that Australia is ready to listen is important. If it had power it would be all of those things that the no campaigners were making it out to be. What’s so offensive about an advisory body to help the government to spend money on First Nations Peoples in a way that is actually meaningful. Of course there was the risk that a government could misuses it’s flexibility to gut it, but they probably couldn’t do that without some political cost. The Voice was never the end goal it was supposed to be a step forwards together on the path to Treaty and Truth-telling. The all-or-nothing approach is very risky with the cultural problems in Australia and the amount of racism that surrounded the debate.

              • WhirlybirdEnglish
                1·
                1 year ago

                What they should have done is just gone for recognition in the constitution. No stupid toothless advisory board, just constitutional recognition. That would have passed.

                The voice tagging along is what killed the whole thing. We’re not “not ready to listen”, we’re just not wanting to put a powerless advisory board in the constitution. Labor can have an indigenous voice every time they’re in power, nothing is stopping them. If the liberals get rid of it then it’s just showing that they’d completely gut and ignore the constitutionally protected voice anyway.

                • ⸻ Ban DHMO 🇦🇺 ⸻English
                  1·
                  1 year ago

                  What’s the point of recognition without actually doing something? This is how First Nations Peoples wanted to be recognised in the constitution, according to the Uluru statement from the heart

                  • WhirlybirdEnglish
                    1·
                    1 year ago

                    So it’s not about recognition, but about actually doing something? A powerless advisory board doesn’t do anything. There are plenty of them already.