An Apology for the Referendum’s Failure
Reading Time: 5 minutesIn Saturday’s referendum, support for the recognition of Indigenous peoples as Australia’s first people was tied to support for the establishment of a Voice. The benefits of establishing a Voice and why it needed to be entrenched in the constitution were not presented and consequently, were predictably and understandably not supported. The reasons for proposing the Voice were not explained, and not considered in a constitutional convention by a cross section of Australian people. Consequently, attributing blame to the No camp is a distraction by those who should have known better, who need to accept responsibility, and most importantly, who owe Indigenous people an apology.