Australians vote No in ‘Voice referendum’

The contest was over within 90 minutes of the start of vote counting, reports say.

If successful the referendum would have seen an amendment to the Australian Constitution and the establishment of an ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice’ – a body of First Nation appointees who would give independent advice to the Parliament and government on policy matters.

With almost 70% of the vote counted, the ‘No’ vote led ‘Yes’ 60% to 40%. Australian broadcaster ABC and other TV networks have projected that a majority of voters in all six of Australia’s states would vote against altering the 122-year-old constitution.

Reacting to the result Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said a ‘new way forward’ was required to achieve ‘reconciliation’.

‘Our nation’s road to reconciliation has often been hard going. Tonight is not the end of the road and is certainly not the end of our efforts to bring people together.’

Opposition leader Peter Dutton and his Indigenous Australians spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price hailed the crushing victory, which according to the Sydney Morning Herald was achieved in ‘the first 90 minutes’, and called for a Royal Commission into child sexual abuse in Indigenous communities, as well as an audit of government spending in the sector.

‘This is the referendum that Australia did not need to have. The proposal and the process should have been designed to unite Australia, not to divide us. 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,’ said Dutton.

‘So tonight I again commit the coalition to implementing a Royal Commission into child sexual abuse in indigenous communities and an audit into spending on indigenous programs.’