A paradox of the 45th referendum is that it failed because those who have power – leaders in politics, business, the law and academia – believed they could deploy it to help a group which, in aggregate, is profoundly powerless.

The failure of the Voice represented a backlash against elite influence. The proof can be seen in the electoral map: rich seats voted Yes; poor seats were opposed, including those with big Indigenous populations, which are, of course, the people whose lives Australians were told would improve if they were recognised in the Constitution.