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

    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.

      • 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.

          • WhirlybirdEnglish
            1·
            1 year ago

            Yeah and a powerless easily ignored advisory board isn’t that.

              • WhirlybirdEnglish
                1·
                1 year ago

                The referendum failed because the pointless, vague, virtue signalling voice was attached to it. Had there been 2 questions on the referendum, one about recognising indigenous people in the constitution, that absolutely would have passed while the voice one failed.

                Had they actually committed to something that would be guaranteed to help indigenous people because it gave them some power, and importantly been able to give us all the details about it and how it will, that would have had a much better chance than the voice we got.