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In a decisive turn of events, Australia has voted against the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, with the proposal being rejected by every state. The only exception was the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), which stood in favor of the initiative.
The unfolding of results began with Tasmania, where ABC’s election analyst Antony Green identified a trend favoring ‘No’ shortly after 7 p.m. AEST. This was quickly followed by similar conclusions in New South Wales around 7:15 p.m. and South Australia at approximately 7:25 p.m.
As the evening progressed, Queensland, the Northern Territory, and Victoria also joined the ranks of the ‘No’ voters. An hour after polling stations closed in Western Australia, the results were definitive enough to declare a rejection there as well, solidifying the nationwide sentiment against the proposal.
ABC election guru Antony Green first called Tasmania for the No camp shortly after 7pm AEST, followed by New South Wales about 7.15pm and South Australia about 7.25pm.
Queensland, the Northern Territory and Victoria all followed. Just an hour after polling booths closed in Western Australia, the result was clear enough to call the result there, too.
Devastated leading Yes campaigners Thomas Mayo and Dean Parkin slammed the No campaign’s tactics after the result became evident, telling their supporters they did the best they could in the face of ‘misinformation’. Some Indigenous Australians will now embark on a week of silence to mourn the result.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also addressed the nation alongside Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney, fighting back tears as he conceded defeat.
‘When we reflect on everything happening in the world today, we can all give thanks that here in Australia we make the big decisions peacefully and as equals, with one vote, one value,’ he said.
‘I never imagined or indeed said that it would be easy. Very few things in public life worth doing are.’
The ACT – home to Canberra, the capital – voted Yes, as did the eastern suburbs of Sydney and inner city Melbourne, according to election data.
Follow Daily Mail Australia’s live blog for updates as they happen.
With five states now called for the No campaign, the referendum is defeated
The Indigenous Voice to Parliament has been rejected by the Australian people at the referendum.
Tasmania was called first for the No camp – a key swing state – shortly after 7pm AEST, followed by New South Wales about 7.15pm and South Australia about 7.25pm.
Queensland, the Northern Territory and Victoria all followed. Just an hour after polling booths closed in Western Australia, the result was clear enough to call there, too.
It is a resounding victory for the No campaign, with a No vote the outcome in every state, and one territory. The Australian Capital Territory has secured the only Yes vote.
The bruising campaign has cost the government – and Australian people – $365million.
Leading Yes campaigners Thomas Mayo and Dean Parkin have expressed their devastation with the result from their Yes camp event in Sydney tonight.
Both men appeared devastated when they addressed the media and their supporters.
They lashed the No campaign as ‘misinformation’ and said the Australian public had the appetite for the proposal, but were spooked by the complaints and criticism from the No camp.
Labor senator’s heartfelt response to No vote: ‘We are grieving’
Labor senator Jana Stewart, who has been an avid campaigner throughout the referendum debate, has shared a heartfelt update to social media.
After removing her profile picture on the app, Senator Stewart shared a black square to her Instagram feed.
‘No words for tonight except to say we are not ok, we are grieving. Rest is resilience.
‘Touch base on Monday,’ she wrote, alongside an emoji of a broken heart.
NSW Premier Chris Minns commits to listening to First Nations voices
NSW Premier Chris Minns has acknowledged the result of the referendum, but vowed to continue working with First Nations Australians to make sure their voices are heard.
He said: ‘The results are in, and it’s important we respect that decision.
‘But this remains clear. The status quo isn’t working, so we’ll work to deliver the best outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in NSW. Each and every day.’
Mr Minns was pictured alongside Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney casting his vote in their electorate in southern Sydney.
He said in spite of the disappointing result, he will continue working toward ensuring Indigeonus people’s ‘voices are heard in NSW’.
Western Australia votes No to the Voice
Western Australia has, unsurprisingly, voted No to the Voice.
This means every single state in Australia voted down the proposal. The ACT voted Yes, while the Northern Territory also voted No.
With 269 out of 826 polling booths in WA counted, the state’s No vote is sitting at about 59.7 per cent, while the Yes vote languishes at 40 per cent.
It’s a crushing blow to the Yes campaign, but Western Australia has long been considered a state unlikely to support the referendum.
WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam said, after the result became clear, that WA Premier Roger Cook was to blame for the state rejecting the proposal.
“There is no doubt that the Cook government’s shambolic Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act has had an impact on the vote or support for the voice in WA,’ Mettam told The Australian.
‘The chaos created by the Cook Labor government’s botched rollout of this act and the lack of details provided created real doubt and mistrust about how their federal Labor colleagues would implement the voice.’
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price addresses the public
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has thanked Australia for their support throughout the campaign.
The Northern Territory senator has been the face of the No case for most of the campaign, and has enjoyed a meteoric rise during that same period of time.
Speaking to the public, she said: ‘We are one of the if not the greatest nation on the face of the earth. And it is time for Australians to believe that once again, to be proud to call ourselves Australian.
‘I realise that much work needs to be done for us to be brought together as a country because it has been such a challenging and heart-wrenching time for many Australians.
‘For those of you that voted Yes, please no that we as a Coalition have always got the best interests of all Australians at heart. We want to make sure that we’re fighting for a better for all Australians. But going forward, we need to prioritise where our most marginalised are.’
Leading Yes campaigner Thomas Mayo slams ‘disgusting fear campaign, dishonesty’
Devastated Thomas Mayo has addressed media about the referendum’s defeat, issuing a scathing assessment of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and the No campaign as a whole.
He said analysis of the campaigns will take place when the dust has settled, and that there should be ‘repercussions’ for the ‘fear campaign, the dishonesty’ and the ‘trying to tell people that this is something that it is not’.
“We’ve just been honest, we’ve been out there working hard, you know 70,000 volunteers, people that have never campaigned before.”
He later said: ‘We put our faith in the Australian people. I think they were ready, but there has been some really horrible political campaigning from Peter Dutton and his No campaign.
‘It’s been disgusting to be frank.’
‘A week of silence for the Voice’: Indigenous Australians speak out
A group of Indigenous Australians who supported the Voice have issued a two-page statement vowing to begin a week of silence beginning tonight.
This time will be used to ‘grieve this outcome and reflect on its meaning and significance’.
The group said: ‘We will be lowering our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags to half-mast for the week of silence to acknowledge this result. We ask others to do the same.’
This time will be used to ‘regather strength and resolve’, to begin looking toward the future and consider a new path forward.
‘To our people we say: do not shed tears. This rejection was never for others to issue.
‘The truth is that we offered this recognition and it has been refused. We now know where we stand in this our own country. Always was. Always will be.’
The group said the reasons for this ‘tragic outcome’ will be ‘dissected in the weeks, years and decades to come’.
‘Much will be asked about the role of racism and prejudice against Indigenous people in this result. The only thing we ask is that each and every Australian who voted in this election reflect hard on this question.’
‘The reserve bank can rest easy now’: PM’s quip
The PM has repeatedly expressed his frustrations about the questions which the Opposition raised throughout the campaign about the scope of the proposed advisory body.
He addressed some of those theories during Saturday night’s speech, telling reporters in Parliament House ‘the Reserve Bank can rest easy now that they won’t be getting advice on interest rates before the next meeting’.
‘Debates about the length of the Uluru Statement from the Heart that no-one serious, in his room room – does anyone in this room think that it was more that it was? But we had pages and pages and weeks and weeks donated to those issues
‘That was some of the things that were discussed. There are a range of reasons. A change in the constitution is hard.’
Victoria has voted No to the Voice
For a portion of the evening, the vote in Victoria began trending up. There was hope that it could get over the line for the Yes vote.
Now, that count has again started tracking down. ABC analyst Antony Green said there was enough of a trend to officially call Victoria for the No campaign, meaning it has secured support from all states except Western Australia (where the count is still underway).
Northern Territory votes No to the Voice
The Northern Territory has voted No to the Indigenous Voice.
Similar to the ACT, the Northern Territory votes did not count toward the state majority needed to secure victory, however each individual vote counted toward the national tally.
With 30 per cent of the Lingiari vote counted and sitting at 66 per cent No, and 68 per cent of the Solomon vote counted at 65 per cent No, pollsters were comfortable calling the decision.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addresses the public alongside Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney
Anthony Albanese has addressed the public for the first time since his referendum was voted down, fighting back tears as he conceded defeat.
He said: ‘While tonight’s result is not one that I had hoped for, I absolutely respect the decision of the Australian people and the democratic process that has delivered it.
‘When we reflect on everything hapepning in the world today we can all give thanks that we make the decisions peacefully, and as equals.’
Mr Albanese said he knew he could never promise a win to the Indigenous Australians who had placed their faith in him to implement the pillars of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, but that he gave it his all.
‘We argued for this change not out of convenience but from conviction, because that’s what people deserve from their government.
‘When you do the hard things, when you aim high, sometimes you fall short. And tonight we acknowledge, understand and respect that we have. As prime minister, I will always accept responsibility for the decisions I have taken, and I do so tonight.’
TasmaniaIndigenous Voice to Parliament
