‘Crushing Indigenous hopes’: how the media reacted to voice referendum loss
GuardianJUL 2023
Australia's First Nations people have endured generations of discrimination, exclusion, and outright theft. The referendum was a way to try and unite the country, but it failed due to a misinformation campaign that steered debate away from the core issues. This result damages Australia's image in the world regarding how it treats Indigenous people.
A Yes vote for the Indigenous Voice referendum — which was itself a distraction from achieving practical and positive outcomes — would have let politicians widely considered untrustworthy create sets of rules to govern the body, while dividing Australians along racial lines without actually reducing Indigenous disadvantage or marginalization. The government is right in its attempts to push forward pragmatic and feasible improvements for indigenous populations.