Australia's Landmark Indigenous Voice Referendum Fails

Australia on Saturday rejected a proposal to recognise Indigenous people in the constitution, which will be a major setback to the country's efforts for reconciliation with its First Peoples.

Across the country, after counting 45 per cent of the votes, the 'No' vote held a dominant position with 57.35 per cent, as opposed to the 'Yes' vote at 42.65 per cent, according to a report in Reuters.

Major television networks like Australian broadcaster ABC projected that at least four states - New South Wales, Tasmania, Queensland, and South Australia - would vote against amending the 122-year-old constitution.

According to Australian broadcaster ABC's earlier projection, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania would not support the voice and at least four of the six states should vote in favour, along with a national majority, for a successful referendum.

A successful referendum requires at least four of the six states to vote in favour, along with a national majority.

Australians were tasked with marking either 'Yes' or 'No' on a ballot paper in response to a question about amending the 122-year-old constitution to acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This amendment also involved establishing an Indigenous entity known as the Voice to Parliament, aimed at offering advice to the government on Indigenous matters.

Across the nation, with 20.2 per cent of the votes tallied, the 'No' campaign was in the lead, with 55.1 per cent against the 44.9 per cent for "Yes".

Indigenous Australians, constituting 3.8 per cent of the nation's 26 million population, have lived on this land for approximately 60,000 years, according to a report in Reuters.

However, the country's constitution does not acknowledge them, and by various socio-economic standards, they are the most disadvantaged group within the nation.