An open letter to parliament and the Australian public has expressed the sorrow and anger of First Nations Yes supporters, a week on .
of the proposal, a group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander "leaders, community members and organisations" expressed their "collective insights" from the referendum.
"We feel acutely the repudiation of our peoples," the statement reads.
"That people who came to our country in only the last 235 years would reject the recognition of this continent's First Peoples ... is so appalling and mean-spirited as to be utterly unbelievable ...
"It will remain unbelievable and appalling for decades to come."
In a scathing assessment, the group decries both the result and its validation by sections of the media and political establishment.
The role of “dog whistling and misinformation” in the success of the No campaign, they allege, could not be underestimated.
Conservative political leaders, whose opposition to the Voice was also singled out as decisive in the body's rejection, were also targeted.
“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 letter said.
The statement reserves thanks and praise, however, for the more than 5 million yes voters, especially the Indigenous communities across the country which voted strongly in favour of the Voice.
"The high levels of support for Yes in our communities exposes the No campaign's lies ... The situation of these communities needs to be addressed sooner rather than later."
That support from Indigenous communities was also praised by the Central Land Council, who also released a statement denouncing the result.
“[This is a] country that does not know itself," they said in a statement.
“Those of us who have been around for a long time recognise how it feels ... We have been here before. We are sad but we know that we must stay strong."
The accusations levelled by the statements and others like it were rejected by prominent No campaigner Warren Mundine.
“The Australian public are not racists, they’re not idiots, they’re not stupid, all those insults, they’ve totally misread this,” he said.
“They’re still missing the point, the vast majority of Australians wanted to say Yes to recognition, but they didn’t like the Voice.”
