Australia says “no” to more say for indigenous people Deadly attack on teachers: France mobilizes 7,000 soldiers

The Australian voters’ ‘no’ to greater political participation for indigenous people has led to disappointment and dismay among large parts of the indigenous population. In Saturday’s historic ‘Voice’ referendum, a clear majority of around 60 percent of participants spoke out against the plan to give Aboriginal people a say in parliament, as enshrined in the constitution. The opponents were also in a majority in all six states, but for the reform to take effect there would have to be a maximum of two. 18 million people were eligible to vote, including 530,000 indigenous peoples.

“The ‘no’ shows my children, who are proud members of the Birpai people, that the world around them does not want them, or that it does not matter what they have to say,” wrote indigenous journalist Jack Latimore on Sunday in the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. The Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, tearfully called it a “sad day for Australia”.

If successful, an Indigenous-elected committee called the “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice” would have advised Parliament on issues directly affecting Indigenous people. De facto, the indigenous population would have been recognized in the constitution.

It will likely take years for the consequences of this cancellation to become fully clear, wrote Indigenous commentator Lorena Allam in the Australian Guardian. “But it is already abundantly clear that the outcome is deeply hurtful to First Nations people.” Ultimately, the referendum was also a vote on the right of Indigenous peoples to exist in their own lands, “and our fellow Australians voted to reject us,” Allam said. “Imagine what that feels like today.” Unlike neighboring New Zealand, Australia still does not have a treaty with its indigenous population.

The conservative opposition’s fear campaign changed opinion

In particular, the conservative opposition around frontman Peter Dutton had expressed massive opposition to the plans in recent months and changed opinion in the country after the majority of the population initially leaned towards a “yes”. But some indigenous peoples also opposed it. The plan didn’t go far enough for them.

For Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who fulfilled an election promise with the referendum – the first in Australia in 24 years – the ‘no’ vote is a serious defeat. He respected the outcome but would continue to work towards reconciliation and bridging the divide in society, he said in an emotional speech.

The stated goal of his social democratic Labor government is to improve the reality of life for indigenous people, who continue to face severe discrimination today. Indigenous people make up about four percent of the population and live on the margins of society in many places. Their life expectancy is significantly lower than that of white Australians and infant mortality is higher, but at the same time they have poorer access to education and the labor market.

Considered the oldest surviving culture in the world, Aboriginal people have inhabited the continent for more than 65,000 years. With the colonization by the British, a time of oppression began for them. They are not even mentioned in the constitution adopted in 1901. They did not receive civil rights until 1967.

Until the 1970s, indigenous children were taken from their families to be “re-educated” in Christian missions or with white families. It was only in 2008 that the government under then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologized for the suffering inflicted on the victims of the ‘Stolen Generation’. (sda/dpa)