Key Points
- An open letter shared on the weekend describes the result of the 14 October referendum as "shameful".
- The majority of Australians voted against the Indigenous Voice, with the No vote recording 60 per cent nationwide.
- Sunday's statement said there was nothing positive to be taken from the referendum result.
Indigenous Yes campaign leaders have over the 14 October referendum, describing the result as "shameful".
An unsigned, open letter released on Sunday said that after a week of silence they were speaking out to respond to the majority of Australians who voted against in the constitution.
"In refusing our peoples' right to be heard on matters that affect us, Australia chose to make itself less liberal and less democratic," the statement read.
"It is clear no reform of the constitution that includes our peoples will ever succeed. This is the bitter lesson from 14 October."
The latest count from the 14 October referendum shows the national No vote at 60.69 per cent and Yes at 39.31 per cent. Every state turned down the proposal, with the .
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has acknowledged the disappointment of Yes campaigners, but said Australia's choice must be respected.
"We respect the outcomes in our democracy and I have done that," he told reporters in Perth on Friday.
Sunday's statement, which did not name its specific authors, said there was nothing positive to be taken from the referendum result.
Post-referendum commentary absolving No voters was expected, it said, in the usual kind of post-election approval or praise of the electorate.
"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," it said.
LISTEN TO
International law expert reflects on failed Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum
SBS NITV Radio
19/10/202309:12
There was little that could be done after the federal Opposition announced it was opposing the Voice, the letter stated.
"The support for the referendum collapsed from the moment Liberal and National Party leaders, Mr Dutton and Mr Littleproud, chose to oppose the Voice to Parliament proposal after more than a decade of bipartisan support."
The statement described the level of misinformation surrounding the campaign and lead-up to the vote as "unprecedented", saying it had "unleashed a tsunami of racism".
"We know that the mainstream media failed our people, favouring 'a false sense of balance' over facts," said the letter, which also criticised organisations for "lies in political advertising and communication".
On Saturday, three Northern Territory land councils said the result of the referendum could not be separated from a "deep-seated racism".
"It is fair to say that not everyone who voted No is racist but also fair to say that all racists voted No," said the Northern Land Council, Tiwi Land Council and Anindilyakwa Land Council.
"The vitriol and hatred that were part of the campaign existed prior to, but were given licence through the process."
