Advocates behind the failed Indigenous Voice to Parliament say the movement remains alive and that they will continue to push for constitutional change.
Two years on from the referendum failure, the Uluru Statement from the Heart said a Voice to Parliament remains essential to improving outcomes for Indigenous Australians.
‘The Voice Referendum may have been lost, but political loss is a normal feature of the political process,’ a spokesperson for the campaign said. ‘The future is ours to shape. We will not walk away.’
The 2023 referendum, held on October 14, asked Australians whether they supported enshrining an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the Constitution.
The proposal was rejected by a significant margin, with approximately 60.1 per cent voting No and 39.9 per cent voting Yes.
Every state voted against the change, although the ACT recorded a majority Yes vote.
Despite the loss, more than 6.2 million Australians supported the proposal, a figure that continues to inspire campaigners.
‘This movement is not over.’
‘Political loss is a normal feature of democracy. But the reasons that compelled Prime Minister Albanese to call the referendum haven’t changed. The status quo remains, and First Nations people still have no formal voice in national decision-making.
‘Two years on, little has changed. But the reasons that compelled Prime Minister Albanese to commit to a referendum have not changed in two years.
‘First Nations people still have no voice, and this manifests in the relentless and unyielding gap in disadvantage,’ the statement said. ‘The Closing the Gap statistics are not improving.’
They accused the Federal Government of running an overly complex and bureaucratic system to manage programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, warning that billions in taxpayer funds are failing to deliver results on the ground.
The group behind the Indigenous Voice to Parliament has declared they won’t ‘walk away’ (file)
They said the government now operates through a ‘complex array of Indigenous incorporated entities’ reliant on public money.
‘Despite the devolution of responsibility to the states and territories, the situation has become more bureaucratic and more Canberra-driven.’
They also questioned the transparency of federal spending on Indigenous affairs, claiming that Australia’s integrity measures are not strong enough to show where the money is going.
The Uluru Statement from the Heart, which underpinned the referendum proposal, continues to guide the movement.
It calls for three major reforms: establishing a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution to give Indigenous Australians a permanent say on laws and policies that affect their lives, and creating a Makarrata Commission to oversee treaty-making between governments and First Nations, recognising sovereignty and building genuine partnerships.
It also calls for a national truth-telling process to confront and acknowledge the real history of colonisation, dispossession and violence.
Supporters of the Voice welcomed a major development in Victoria this week, where the Statewide Treaty Bill 2025 passed through Parliament.
‘We welcome the developments in Victoria with the first Treaty legislation in Australia’s history being a statutory Voice to Parliament. It shows the consistency of Indigenous aspirations for recognition and change.’
The legislation establishes Gellung Warl, a statutory Indigenous Voice with powers to consult on government policy and hold ministers accountable. It marks the first time such a body has been created through legislation in Australia.
The group released the statement on the second anniversary of the defeat of the proposal (file)
Jacinta Price (pictured) said the Voice result ‘preserved Australian values and democracy’
‘This is not about division,’ said Rueben Berg, Co-Chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria.
‘We do this not to divide Victoria, but to complete it – not to take anything from anyone, but to make this place more whole for everyone.’
However, the Victorian Opposition has pledged to repeal the legislation within 100 days if elected in 2026, arguing that it is not the most effective way to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
Meanwhile, Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, a prominent figure in the No campaign, also shared her views on the second anniversary of the referendum.
‘When millions of Australians resoundingly rejected the Voice referendum two years ago, their decision preserved our values and democracy,’ she said on Tuesday.
Price warned that a successful referendum would have made major impacts on how laws are passed in Canberra.
‘A constitutionally enshrined Voice was far from a ‘modest request’. It would have been a radical and permanent change to our democratic system,’ she said.
‘The Voice would have had the power to have a say on any area of policy. Nothing would have been off limits.’
