Voices off

The failure of the Voice campaign has set back the cause of indigenous representation, rather than advanced it, and by blaming anyone but themselves for their failure, Voice advocates risk repeating the same mistakes in the future.

Progress is still possible

The defeat of the Voice proposal will put the spotlight on existing institutions and frameworks dedicated to improving indigenous outcomes, including The National Indigenous Australians Agency funded with $2.6 billion of public money.

Why we said ‘no’

The Yes campaign was soundly defeated in every state and while a range of factors have been blamed for its defeat, the fact remains that constitutional amendments tend to be rejected whatever their intentions may be.

No, thanks

In a major setback for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Australian voters have overwhelmingly rejected the proposal to inject racial preference into the constitution, with every state and the Northern Territory voting no by a decisive margin.

The final countdown

The Voice Referendum takes place today, although almost half the population have already voted. The final opinion polls suggest the Yes campaign is heading for a heavy defeat, with voters worried about national unity and a lack of detail in the proposal.

Yes or no is not a black or white issue

The 1967 Referendum on Aboriginal citizenship was a triumphant success because it appealed to Australians’ sense of equality, unity and national identity. Today’s Referendum on a Voice to Parliament seems set to fail for exactly the same reason.

Albo’s folly?

In the glow of his triumphant election victory, Anthony Albanese gambled on enshrining an indigenous Voice to Parliament within the constitution, rather than legislating such a body or listening to existing groups. As with other referendums before him, that decision now looks like a mistake.

Winning the media battle, but losing the voting war

The Yes campaign continues to dominate the traditional and social media debate in the run-up to Saturday’s referendum vote, but still trails in the polls across the nation.

Looking beyond the referendum

Australians tend not to spend time contemplating their own navels, and despite vociferous advocates on both sides of the debate, the Voice referendum has failed to grab the attention of the Australian public. Whatever the result on Saturday, the media and the political class should shoulder their fair share of blame for this widespread lack of engagement.

The horror of dealing with Trump

Former Australian defence minister Christoper Pyne has compared the experience of dealing with US President Donald Trump’s administration to watching the supernatural horror film The Conjuring.

After October

Prime Minister Albanese was confident of success when the Referendum campaign was launched, but Labor strategists will soon have to spin what appears to be an inevitable defeat in the poll on October 14.

Rights and wrongs

The ‘yes’ campaign now appears to be about avoiding the consequences of failure for the PM and the nation. Should the referendum fail, it will severely embarrass the government. Far worse, it will bring shame, division and national disgrace onto Australia.