Australia's defeated voice - 13th November 2023

After years of activism, Australians have overwhelmingly voted 'no' in a referendum that would have formally acknowledged indigenous representation in the country's constitution.

The contentious referendum was "To alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice."

Made up of indigenous peoples, the special representative group called 'The Voice' would have counselled parliament on matters concerning indigenous Australians. However, a majority of voters in every state and territory voted no, except for Australia's Capital Territory and eighty percent of Indigenous peoples who voted yes.

Aboriginal communities represent Australia's most disadvantaged groups, suffering from poverty and a lack of adequate healthcare facilities. Activists had hoped The Voice would help bring attention to these concerns.

Opponents of the referendum voiced concerns over its scope of influence, wondering if every government body would need to consult The Voice before enacting legislation or making legal decisions. Others deemed it to be racially divisive.

Some suspect foul play behind the campaign's failure. Sydney University disinformation expert Olga Boichak points to possible Russian interference.

Boichak stated, "influence operations oftentimes sound very ephemeral, very digital – sort of at the level of public discourse – but they actually bring significant harm to some of the population."

Micro-influencer Simeon Boikov refuted Boichak stating, "The Voice has nothing to do with Russia or Vladimir Putin. In fact, I'm probably sure Russian people have never heard of The Voice."

Possible future legislation could still implement The Voice. In fact, there have been multiple representative groups since the 1970s, but the last one was disbanded in 2019.

Addressing those who voted no, Director of the Yes23 campaign Dean Parkin said "All we have wanted was to join with you our indigenous story, our indigenous culture and to not take away or diminish what you have but to add to it."