‘Shameful victory’: Indigenous leaders’ bitter lesson from Voice campaign

Indigenous leaders who supported the Voice to parliament say Australians committed a shameful act that perpetuates colonialism and that the resounding No vote against constitutional recognition shows meaningful change to the nation’s founding document is impossible.

“The truth is that the majority of Australians have committed a shameful act whether knowingly or not, and there is nothing positive to be interpreted from it,” says an official statement from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders, community leaders and organisations who supported the Yes campaign.

Indigenous leaders who campaigned for Yes have released a statement pledging to fight for justice.

“A ‘founding document’ without recognition of First Peoples of this country continues the process of colonisation. It is clear no reform of the Constitution that includes our peoples will ever succeed. This is the bitter lesson from 14 October.”

However, the leaders say they will reconvene with supporters to map a path forward to establish “independent of the Constitution or legislation an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to take up the cause of justice for our people”.

“While this moment will be etched into Australia’s history forever, today we think of our children, and our children’s children. Our work continues as it has always done. We will continue to fight to seek justice for our peoples.”

The statement was released on Sunday evening following a week of silence from members of the Indigenous community to mark the referendum defeat. The unsigned statement was distributed by the public relations firm that worked for the Uluru Dialogue, a key Yes group.

Draft versions of the statement were published by this masthead over the weekend, amid division between Indigenous leaders about the tone and content of the statement.

Some Indigenous leaders chose not to support the draft statement, and it remains unclear who has endorsed the final statement.

The final statement says First Nations people have always faced racism, which increased during the referendum campaign to heavily influence the result.

The ‘If you don’t know, vote No’ slogan gave licence to many who voted against the Voice to abandon their civic responsibility, it says

“Lies in political advertising and communication were a primary feature of this campaign,” the statement reads.

“This shameful victory belongs to the Institute of Public Affairs, the Centre for Independent Studies and mainstream media.”

It says the lack of political bipartisan support from Nationals leader David Littleproud and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was a determining factor in the referendum that could not be overcome by the Yes campaign.

“The proposal was tracking 60 per cent support compared to 40 per cent opposition for several years until the National and Liberal parties preferred wanton political damage over support for some of this country’s most disadvantaged people. There was little the Yes campaign could do to countervail this.”

The official statement moderates the criticisms of a draft version of the statement, which took aim at political leaders and prominent No campaigners including Nyunggai Warren Mundine.

A leaked copy of the statement had been circulated among about 50 Indigenous people and organisations, including those associated with the Yes23 and Uluru Dialogue campaigns.

The official statement removed the accusations that Indigenous leaders Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Senator Kerrynne Liddle and Mundine, who opposed the Voice to parliament, “were just front people for three right-wing organisations”, as well as criticism of media group News Corp.

Also gone was praise for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s “gallantry” in defeat as well as criticism for his failure to blame No voters.

Mundine said he opposed the referendum because it was divisive between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. He said the draft letter “was a continuation of that”.

“This insulting idea that we’re some sort of puppet is just totally ridiculous,” he said.

Littleproud, who pre-empted his Coalition colleagues in the Liberals by declaring first that his party supported the No case, said the failed Yes campaign was Albanese’s fault.

“While I appreciate the disappointment by some Indigenous leaders for Yes, this was a democratically determined outcome the country made,” Littleproud said.

“The loss of the referendum lies squarely at the feet of the prime minister. He misread the nation in putting forward a proposition that conflated recognition with more bureaucracy.”

Albanese said he accepted the referendum result and said he was optimistic Australians would find a new path to reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

“There is a new national awareness of the need to close the gap. We can’t continue to have an eight-year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians,” he said.

“We need to address issues of education, health, housing and other areas of disadvantage. We need to address the justice issues, which are there for all to see.”

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