How Voice failure has silenced republican movement for years

Australia’s Republican movement has been set back years by the “utterly disastrous” campaign for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, according to new polling.

Exclusive: Australia’s Republican movement has been set back years by the “utterly disastrous” campaign for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, according to new polling.

Despite a majority of voters (52 per cent) supporting us becoming a republic, the exclusive poll by Freshwater Strategy found 55 per cent say there should be no new referendum.

Still bruised from the failure of the Voice proposal, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed last week the federal government will not pursue the republican issue, which Labor had earlier indicated would be canvassed if it won a second term.

“Although we’ve just heard there’s no intention of going through with the republic referendum, our polling shows that if they did have one, they’d probably win it,” said Freshwater director Dr Michael Turner.

“But this shows that people are referendumed out.

Polls results show there is currently little support for another referendum. Picture: NCA NewsWire

“So if there’s any kind of signifier that as to how disastrous that previous referendum was, it’s clear that the Voice referendum has not only been a failure for the government but also a failure for the republican movement. It’s been dashed for several years.”

Australians last voted on a republic in 1999, a proposal that failed despite the majority of voters supporting the concept before it started.

The exclusive new polling for The Sunday Telegraph found 69 per cent of voters believed the Voice referendum should have been scrapped or delayed, while a quarter believed it was worthwhile.

Even a majority of Labor supporters (55 per cent) said the referendum should have been cancelled or delayed.

“It was an utterly disastrous campaign,” Dr Turner said.

“It’s fair to say that in a year when people were going to be focused on material issues, for them to focus on something that was more ethereal, it’s clear that they are going to start to punish you.

“But they chose to proceed and then to flog the dead horse that was the Voice ­referendum.”

Originally published as How Voice failure has silenced republican movement for years