Australia has delivered a resounding ‘No’ in the Referendum vote over the weekend that would have changed the constitution to allow an Indigenous Voice to Parliament if successful.

As the final votes are tallied, the polls stand at 61 per cent voting ‘No’ and 39 per cent voting ‘Yes’, with all states and territories except for the ACT producing a majority ‘No’ vote.

While the votes in the Gilmore electorate resemble the wider opinions of Australia with 61.9 per cent voting now, the decision was much closer in the Kiama LGA.

The ‘No’ camp was only 100 votes ahead of ‘Yes’, with just over 14,000 votes counted across polling stations in Kiama, Gerringong, Jamberoo, Gerroa and Minnamurra at the time of writing on 16 October 2023.

If the Referendum had passed, the Federal Government would have established the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, which would have served as an independent body to the Government to advise on issues that impact First Nations Australians. 

Once the result was called for ‘No’, Prime Minister Athony Albanese said he respected the results and would look towards a better way to close the gap and advance reconciliation with First Nations Australians.

“I want to say that while tonight’s result is not one that I had hoped for, I absolutely respect the decision of the Australian people and the democratic process that delivered it,” Prime Minister Albanese told the media.

“Just as the Uluru Statement From The Heart was an invitation extended with humility, grace and optimism for the future, tonight we must meet this result with the same grace and humility. And tomorrow we must seek a new way forward with the same optimism.