Australia Delivered Decision on Rejecting Proposal to Include Indigenous Population in Country’s Constitution
Date: October 14, 2023
Location – Canberra, Australia
THE SOIL – Australia delivered a resounding decision on Saturday, rejecting a proposal to include the Indigenous population in the country’s constitution. This result poses a serious challenge to the ongoing efforts to promote peace with the nation’s First Nations people.
It was the first referendum of its kind in about twenty-five years, and it presented Australians with a big choice. The matter at hand concerned the potential amendments to the country’s constitution to formally recognise and create an Indigenous advisory council for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, dubbed the “Voice to Parliament.”
After almost 70% of the ballots were counted nationwide, the “No” option led the “Yes” choice by a margin of 60% to 40%. A majority of voters in each of Australia’s six states are expected to vote against altering the country’s 122-year-old constitution, according to projections made by major Australian media outlet ABC and several other television networks.
A referendum cannot be declared successful unless it receives the endorsement of four of the six participating entities and receives a majority of the votes cast nationwide.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Expressed Unhappiness with the Results
Noting that the outcome wasn’t what was intended, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed his unhappiness with the results. He did, however, underline how important it is that the country look into other options in order to achieve reconciliation.
The Voice to Parliament was presented as part of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, a statement that Indigenous leaders created in 2017 to outline a course for reconciliation with the Australian community at large.
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Aborigines have been Land's Guardians for About 60,000 years
Aborigines, who make up 3.8% of Australia’s 26 million inhabitants, have been the land’s guardians for about 60,000 years. Surprisingly, the constitution of the nation contains no mention of them, even though, by a large margin, socio-economic indices continue to rank them as Australia’s most disadvantaged demographic group.
The idea’s proponents believed that including Indigenous representation into the constitution would strengthen Australia’s unity and usher in a new era in the country’s relations with Indigenous tribes.
Some Native Americans applauded the change, but others contended that it was a distraction from achieving concrete and positive outcomes.
Political adversaries have strongly opposed the move, claiming it is ineffective, encourages discord, and impairs the effectiveness of governmental decision-making procedures.
Indigenous leader and well-known “Yes” activist Thomas Mayo expressed his shock on ABC News.