Indigenous Proponents of ‘Yes’ Campaign Call for Week of Silence Following Defeat of Australian Labor’s ’Voice’

Some Indigenous YES leaders have been quick to lay blame on the NO campaign, saying it’s not time for reflection on why Labor’s Voice proposal failed.

A woman reacts during a speech by Campaign Director of Yes 23 Dean Parkin at the Inner West for 'Yes2023' official referendum function at Wests Ashfield Leagues Club in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 14, 2023. Jenny Evans/Getty Images

Following the defeat of The Voice referendum, Indigenous leaders who supported Labor’s proposal have called for a “week of silence,” saying it was not the time to reflect on why the proposal failed.

The New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council indicated it believes that racism and prejudice played a role in the defeat of the referendum.

“Now is not the time to dissect the reasons for this tragic outcome. This will be done in the weeks, years, and decades to come. Now is the time for silence, to mourn and deeply consider the consequence of this outcome,” the council said in a statement.

They called for flags to fly at half-mast to mourn the result, saying it was “bitter irony” that people who chose to call Australia home within the last 235 years voted against Labor’s form of Indigenous recognition.

“The referendum was a chance for newcomers to show a long-refused grace and gratitude, and to acknowledge that the brutal dispossession of our people underwrote their every advantage in this country,” they said.

On Oct. 14, Australians took to the polling booths to vote on whether they wanted to alter the Constitution to embed an advisory body into government that will have the power to “make representations” to the executive and legislature on policies that affect Indigenous people.

To pass, it required a double majority—a majority in both the national vote and in the states.

However, the results with 77 percent of the vote counted show 60.5 percent of Australians voted “No” and 39.5 percent “Yes.” All six states also returned with a “No” vote.

A defaced Vote Yes sign is seen in Bassendean in Perth, Australia on Oct. 14, 2023. AAP Image/Richard Wainwright

‘Yes’ Camp Disappointed by Results

Many “Yes” advocates, including leading “Yes” campaigner leftist Thomas Mayo, are blaming the “No” campaign’s “lies” for the resounding lack of support for Labor’s proposal.

“We have seen a disgusting ‘No’ campaign, a campaign that has been dishonest, that has lied to the Australian people,” he told ABC news.

Fellow “Yes” advocate, Marcia Langton, declared that any form of reconciliation, including the opposition’s proposal for a “local Voice,” was clearly “dead.”

“A majority of Australians have said ‘No’ to an invitation from Indigenous Australia, with a minimal proposition, to give us a bare say in matters that affect our lives, advice that doesn’t need to be taken by the Parliament,” she told SBS news.

“I think the ‘No’ campaigners have a lot to answer for. In poisoning Australia against this proposition and against Indigenous Australia. They say they’re not celebrating, but let’s see how they wheel themselves out in the future.”

But Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney assured the Indigenous community that reconciliation work would continue.

“This is not the end of reconciliation,” she said.

“And in the months ahead, I will have more to say about our government’s renewed commitment to closing the gap, because we all agree we need better outcomes for First Nations people.”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accepted the defeat of the referendum.

“My fellow Australians ... while tonight’s result is not one that I had hoped for, I absolutely respect the decision of the Australian people,” he told media.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese delivers a statement on the outcome of the Voice Referendum at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on Oct. 14, 2023. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

Mr. Albanese also pointed to the Coalition’s “No” stance as the reason for the reason behind the results.

“The analysis will go on for some time no doubt. But the truth is that no referendum has succeeded without bipartisan support in this country,” he said.

But he added that the results would not divide Australians and his government would offer to cooperate with all parties to address the disadvantage of indigenous communities.

“We are not ‘Yes’ voters or ’No' voters,” Mr. Albanese said.

“We are all Australians, and it is as Australians, together, that we must take our country beyond this debate without forgetting why we had it in the first place.”

Agree With Sentiment, Disagree on Solution

In the face of heavy criticism from the ‘Yes’ campaign, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton acknowledged that many Australians would feel disappointed by the outcome but called for the unity of all Australians.

“At all times in this debate, I have levelled my criticism at what I consider to have been a bad idea—to divide Australians based on their heritage or the time at which they came to our country,” he told the press.

“The Coalition, local Australians, want to see Indigenous disadvantage addressed. We just disagree on the Voice being the solution.

“And while ‘Yes’ and ’No' voters may hold differences of opinion, these opinions of difference do not diminish a love for our country or our regard for each other.”

As part of his commitment to Indigenous Australians, Mr. Dutton pledged to implement a royal commission into child sexual abuse in Indigenous communities as well as an audit of the billions of spending that have gone into Indigenous programs without yielding results.

“To Indigenous Australians contending with difficulty and disadvantage, I will do my utmost to lead with courage and to do what is right to implement the practical solutions required to improve outcomes and Close the Gap,” he said.

Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, one of the Indigenous faces of the “No” campaign, said that going forward, the country needed to do better to ensure that help gets to its most marginalised Australians.

Country Liberal Party Senator Jacinta Price (R) is handed a nalanala (fighting stick that represents country) by grandmother Tess Napaljarri Ross (L) during an indigenous ceremony at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on July 27, 2022. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

“As I have always said, the gap doesn’t exist between Indigenous Australia and non-Indigenous Australia. It exists between our most marginalised who we know who’s first language isn’t English and live in remote communities, we need to focus our efforts to where our marginalised exist,” she said.

She also expressed disappointment on the accusations that the “No” campaign had spread misinformation.

Greens Call for $250 Million Truth Commission

While blaming the “corrosive misinformation” from the Coalition’s “No” campaign for defeat, the Australian Greens are calling for the Albanese government to establish a $250 million (US$157 million) Truth and Justice Commission.

The commission would be tasked with investigating past wrongdoings to resolve ongoing conflicts and heal from them, according to the Greens. It would also be the foundation for treaties or agreements between First Nations and Australian governments.

“Peter Dutton is the master of misinformation, and there’s an urgent need now for truth-telling and healing,” Mr. Bandt said in a statement.

“Peter Dutton sowed fear and division with a Trumpian misinformation campaign. To lay the groundwork for lasting justice, we now need truth-telling and healing,” he added.

While the referendum was not successful, the Greens leader said the Greens will “not stop fighting to advance First Nations Justice.”

“There’s no need for delay and we can’t leave the country without a clear pathway forward,” he said.

“A national Truth and Justice Commission would bring everyone together to talk honestly about the violence and dispossession of First Nations peoples so we can heal and move forward together.”

Greens Senator Dorinda Cox said the country was founded on “violence and dispossession,” and that most people had “no idea” of what Aboriginal people experienced during colonisation.

“A $250 million commitment to a Truth and Justice Commission would begin the process of recognising and repairing the harms of 234 years of injustice, and allow our country to come together in an honest conversation where everyone has access to the truth,” she said.