What went wrong with Australia’s Indigenous call for a voice?

When the Referendum to give Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders greater political rights was first announced, it was well received, with the early polls suggesting that more than sixty percent of Australians supported it.

This was an opportunity for the establishment of an advisory body to Parliament that would allow Indigenous Peoples a voice on the issues affecting their own communities and for them to be recognised in the Australian constitution.

The ‘YES’ campaign said their proposals outlined in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, requested a modest yet profound change, allowing Indigenous Australians to take their ‘rightful place’ in their own country.

Whilst the ‘NO’ campaigners argued that the ‘Voice to Parliament’ would be racially divisive, giving Indigenous Peoples greater rights over other Australians.

In the end Australia voted ‘NO’ to changing the status quo, by an overwhelming majority.

This week on The Inquiry, we’re asking ‘What went wrong with Australia’s Indigenous call for a voice?’

Contributors: John Maynard, Emeritus Professor, Aboriginal History and Research, University of Newcastle, NSW Australia. Tim Soutphommasane, Chief Diversity Officer, Professor of Practice in Human Rights and Political Theory, University of Oxford, UK and a Former Race Discrimination Commissioner for Australia Andrea Carson, Professor of Political Communication, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia Thomas Mayo, Indigenous Rights Advocate, Maritime Union of Australia Official and Author

Presenter: David Baker Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford Production Co-ordinator: Jordan King Editor: Tara McDermott

Image: Voice Referendum in Australia: Credit: Reuters.

Audio for this episode was updated on 20th November 2023.