Thomas Mayo declares a Voice to Parliament can still go ahead in Australia – and reveals his theory about why many voted No

An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament is still needed, say ‘Yes’ campaigners one year on from the referendum defeat.

More than 60 per cent of Australians voted ‘No’ in the referendum on October 14, 2023, with every state and territory – aside from the ACT – rejecting the proposal to establish a permanent advisory body and constitutional recognition of First Nations people.

One of the architects of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, Megan Davis, said there was still a need for a Voice whether constitutional or statutory.

‘The vote for no was effectively a vote for no change and consequently there’s been no change,’ she told AAP.

Professor Davis said structural change was needed to make a difference in people’s lives, and state-based treaty and truth-telling processes would not be enough.

‘Any state-based process whether it is voice, treaty or truth are vulnerable to political shifts, as we’ve seen with the Northern Territory abandoning truth-telling after their recent election,’ she said.

‘Without a coordinated national Voice, we’re stuck with fragmented approaches that won’t deliver the lasting change First Nations People need across the country.’

Despite the defeat, Thomas Mayo, who was among the leading ‘Yes’ vote advocates, said constitutional change could still take place down the track.

It’s one year since the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum was held and the yes vote lost

‘Do you accept that this particular proposal, given it has been rejected by the Australian people is dead – or do you think it could still have a future,’ ABC host Patricia Karvelas asked Mayo in an interview. 

‘There’s still a future that includes Indigenous people in the constitution. Sure, in reality it’s not going to happen again for a while,’ he replied.

‘It will be a while before any politicians will have the courage to put it to the people and hope for the best. 

‘We don’t always get things right in a democracy. If we accepted the “No” answers that we got about equal wages or about our right to vote as Indigenous people … things would be worse today.

‘Because more than 60 per cent of young people voted “Yes” between 18 and 24, that tells me that we’ve got a future, and what we tried to do last year will be achieved.’

He also called out the No campaign.

‘Most of the people who voted No were probably driven by the tactics of confusion , but were also led to fear that they might lose something personally. 

‘And the slogan “if you don’t know, vote No” was unfortunately extremely powerful.’

He said that Yes campaigners overheard No campaigners making false claims about The Voice at polling booths.

 ‘They said people were going to use their backyard, their farms, things like that, so I don’t think that people were voting no to progress.

‘They unfortunately fell for the tactics that were used.’ 

Opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price said the referendum remained a waste of time and money.

‘It was a task that ended up dividing our country, and at a time we don’t need to be divided, and unfortunately, the Albanese government put all their eggs in one basket,’ she told ABC TV.

‘The Albanese government hasn’t implemented any methods to improve the circumstances or change things on the ground.’

Following the referendum result, Indigenous academic Marcia Langton declared reconciliation was dead.

But Senator Nampijinpa Price said supporters of the voice needed to move on.

‘The ‘Yes’ campaigners need to let go, accept the result, because Australia’s made that determination, and move forward,’ she said.

‘There are marginalised, Indigenous Australians whose lives need to be impacted in a positive way right now.’

Workplace Minister Murray Watt said the government made the right decision to keep going with the referendum despite signs it was heading to defeat in polling.

‘This was a proposal about enshrining rights of First Nations people in our constitution and we didn’t think it was appropriate to ignore their wishes, either at the beginning of the campaign or as the campaign went on,’ he told ABC radio.

‘This is going to be a pretty painful day for First Nations Australians, there were a lot of hopes invested in the voice to parliament proposal.’