To be shocked that Australia voted NO on this referendum?

[koalaknickers]

"The Voice to Parliament was proposed in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, a 2017 document crafted by Indigenous leaders that set out a roadmap for reconciliation with wider Australia.

Australia's Indigenous citizens, who make up 3.8% of the country's 26 million population, have inhabited the land for about 60,000 years but are not mentioned in the constitution and are, by most socio-economic measures, the most disadvantaged people in the country."

Australia rejects Indigenous referendum in setback for reconciliation (msn.com)

I have family out there. I just assumed that they would have voted YES. I hope they did. Perhaps I should ask them.

Half of my Aussie cousins are embarrassed but half are ‘ why do they think they’re better than us, getting ALL the special treatment.’

Sorry to digress but what sort of TV programmes regularly feature the word p**i? Are you in the UK @Simonjt ?

It is devastating. I'm in NSW and my polling place voted 70% yes, thankfully. They had to have a referendum because that is the process for changing the wording of the constitution

The yes campaign didn't do enough. The no campaign put enough fear into people that it was safer to vote no.

We also have mandatory voting so lots of people were not engaged but had to vote so just said no as they didn't know what it was about.

And others are racist.

What a shame that special treatment won't involve a first nation voice to improve outcomes and get the best value for money

I'm not surprised. And I don't think it was to do with the people not understanding it. Australia still seems more racist & misogynistic than other European countries in my opinion. Maybe not all over the country but enough that they voted no.

Not remotely surprised sadly.

We also have mandatory voting so lots of people were not engaged but had to vote so just said no as they didn't know what it was about.

I can see how mandatory voting can be a problem when it comes to referendums and voting on complex issues, if people aren't engaged but have to vote they are more likely to vote for the status quo.

It is also far easier to campaign for the status quo then campaign for change. Ireland had a couple of tough referendums recently - marriage equality and abortion. The wording for both was decided by a citizens assembly because it is crucial to get the wording right so people have a clear understanding on what they are voting on. Both also had really really strong Yes campaigns - all party agreement so all parties campaigning for yes and then many different organisations also fronting yes campaigns. Good debate engaged the voter so the majority that came out to vote came out to vote yes. We have made many mistakes in the past when it came to referendums and have learnt from them

Voice referendum live results: votes count and map by state in the 2023 Australian Indigenous voice to parliament poll | Indigenous voice to parliament | The Guardian

If I am interpreting this correctly, it seems that Queensland were the state who were most against it with only 31.1% YES and Victoria were the state who were most for it with 45%

New South Wales were third in line.

Not surprised in the result in the slightest.

I’ve visited Australia many times, and one side of my family have lived there since the 1960s, and even the younger generations in the family are racist towards all non-white people but especially to their own indigenous people. I’m originally from NZ (but live in the UK) so both countries have fairly close ties but it’s one strong reason why I would never move there. I don’t like my family’s attitudes either so better to keep my distance from such small-minded horrid people.

I can’t imagine how the Aboriginal people must be feeling right now.

Great post.

I guess they still have a functioning democracy, and they prefer the democratic system of one citizen, one vote, as opposed to some citizens, more than one vote.

Never mind OP, totalitarianism will arrive, it just has the odd set back.

I've heard it's hugely racist over there, awful

So disappointing isn't it.

I foolishly thought maybe things were going to improve for the indigenous people. My family member telling me about the racist incident I mentioned earlier, well I thought that was just how you get racists everywhere. However, it seems that this is something much more deep rooted in the fabric of Australia than I thought.

I was there 20 years ago and visited Sydney and Perth and did not see one indigenous person my whole time there.

Half of my Aussie cousins are embarrassed but half are ‘ why do they think they’re better than us, getting ALL the special treatment.’

That sounds what I read - that a lot of Aussies who voted No viewed it as a way of giving more rights to the Aboriginal people, which they believed to be very unfair.

Maybe like people countering Black Lives Matter with "But ALL lives matter" - even though the importance of white lives has never been in question or under threat.

From what I have gathered it was because

1. no one could say what form the voice would take, who would be on the “ commitee” and what power they would have exactly
2. people thought it was hiding a bigger agenda involving reparations and land
3. people didn’t think one racial group should be given more power in the constitution over other groups
4. people didn’t like the negative yes campaign calling no voters racist
5. it had a catchy slogan “if you don’t know , vote no” not dissimilar to the simple but effective brexit no slogan “ take back control “

I think they are some of the reasons reading a few articles

Unfortunately to some, just being recognised is giving power. They want recognition then they’ll want something else.

Far be it from me to interrupt Mumsnet when it's in full "Australians are all stupid, racist colonials" mode but (a) the voice could have been legislated without a referendum, the government chose to try and place it within the constitution despite refusing to explain how it would work, (b) even placing it in the constitution didn't mean anything given that a future government could introduce legislation changing the voice to one bloke in Ulla Dulla if they had a mind to, (c) the yes campaign failed to engage with voters in working class areas or those with English as a second language and instead produced a top-down, corporation-heavy campaign that made people who were always going to vote yes feel good about themselves but didn't do anything elsewhere (d) there is a not insignificant Blak Sovereignty movement that doesn't want the voice, they want a treaty instead, (e) the no campaign was led by two indigenous politicians - whatever anyone thinks of Jacinta Price she has a skill for speaking plainly to the electorate, and (f) the yes campaign knew from very early on that the referendum was likely to fail but they brought the enabling legislating to parliament unchanged anyway and the government abandoned the idea of local and regional voices.

Now please do carry on explaining that your Aunt Beryl went to Sydney for three days in 1997 and was appalled at all the racism she saw and the terrible lack of nice civilised history like medieval castles.

When the result came in, i was hugely disappointed in my fellow Australians. I did think, i wonder if this will make to MN as, over the years, i have seen many other Australians absolutely refuting that it is a racist country on here.

That was never my experience. Sadly, this result is.

I don't think labelling all no voters as racist is particularly accurate or helpful.

This, especially if you don't live in Australia and have no idea about the issues being voted on.

It's also worth bearing in mind (as PPs have mentioned) Australia has compulsory voting - you don't get to abstain in a referendum, you have to pick Yes or No. So No automatically gets a boost given it's the "keep things as they are" option.

Aus has cemented its not for ethical travel status.

@sashagabadon has summarised it well. I think the Left in a lot of countries are alienating people by labelling them as racist/xenophobic/bigoted/ignorant when an alleged "progressive" proposal is not popular.

That creates a space for the far right. Left leaning politicians need to wise up because we're all worse off as a result.

I have family in South Australia. The racism in particular against aborigines is breathtaking. But as pp probably similar to travellers here.
I'm not surprised.

Read my earlier posts about why it is crucial referendums are run properly, sounds like this was a mess and you have explained clearly why people voted no. A real own goal for Australia that has damaged your reputation overseas. What a failure by your government no winners here.

For what it is worth my bil is born and bred Australian to Indian parents, he has received more racist comments living in Dublin then his years growing up in Sydney

I don’t doubt there is plenty of racism in Australia, but it’s hugely arrogant to say that racism is the only reason someone might disagree with a proposal like this. The failure of the Yes campaign to engage with people who disagree is actually what creates division.

‘We’re not racist but…’