Australians vote No in referendum that promised change for First Nations people but couldn’t deliver
Australians vote No in referendum that promised change for First Nations people but couldn’t deliver
With a two-letter word, Australians have struck down the first attempt at constitutional change in 24 years, major media outlets reported, a move experts say will inflict lasting damage on First Nations people and suspend any hopes of modernizing the nation’s founding document.
With a two-letter word, Australians have struck down the first attempt at constitutional change in 24 years, major media outlets reported, a move experts say will inflict lasting damage on First Nations people and suspend any hopes of modernizing the nation’s founding document.
Early results from the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) suggested that most of the country’s 17.6 million registered voters had written No on their ballots, and CNN affiliates 9 News, Sky News and SBS all projected no path forward for the Yes campaign.
The proposal, to recognize Indigenous people in the constitution and create an Indigenous body to advise government on policies that affect them, needed a majority nationally and in four of six states to pass.
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Dispelling Australia's Referendum Misunderstandings
I thought i'd start a discussion on this as there is an international reputation forming that may not be justified due to misinformation. The vote was to change the Australian Constitution to include a section giving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples a voice in parliament, which they already have through inner dialogue between their mobs and local governments. How this constitutional change would look or be enacted was not known and very vague, with the crux being that it would still be government controlled, there was widespread animosity from First Nations people about it being another 'white-man's decision', it would create division by being unequal when indigenous Australians are striving for equality. These are the key reasons behind the nation's 'No' vote. It was never a vote about if you 'like Aboriginal Australians or not' as many of the articles here seem to indicate.
absolute horseshit. this entire post is disingenuous. the voice was supported by the vast majority of first nations people.
The amendment had roughly 80% support from indigenous Australians, and I'm pretty confident the majority of the remaining 20% rejected it because it didn't go far enough, and they want treaty.
57% is far from a vast majority.
This is why I voted no.
Indigenous Australians are striving for equality but are given special treatments with healthcare, loans, employment and education compared to every other Australian that is struggling with all those areas of their day to day and this yes vote will give them more special perks to try "fit in" with everyday Australians. If you give the indigenous special perks it will further divide resentment.
The whole referendum needed more explaining as all the media did was say vote yes but not explain why to vote yes or vote no, people are lazy and don't wanna google either and will just go off the rumour mill like when the COVID rumours were rampant.
There was also alot of miss information about what was in the referendum and if it was iron clad or would it be a brexir moment and people vote not knowing and then get screwed by their own government.
TL:DR; I'm sure about 60% of other Australians felt the same way, we're not rasicts we just want indigenous to be with us, not have perks given out at tax payer cost creating animosity within a race.
So you were capable of, and advocate for doing your research, did the research you're advocating for then tossed it and voted no purely because there wasn't enough information actively pushed out? Never mind the multiple info packs mailed to you, etc.
Brexit had very predictable results that were called out loud and early. Sun and Daily Mail reading dipshits ignored all that and cut off their noses to spite their racist faces. An entirely toothless indigenous voice to parliament has similarly predictable results - they'll either be ignored, or will have a greater say in how money allocated to closing the gap in indigenous outcomes is spent.
What would a similar situation to Brexit actually look like to you?
Yeah. Seeing tons of people claiming the vote was too vague and that people wouldn't understand while also clearly understanding what this amendment was and what it's implications are has been pretty odd to say the least