00:00 Six years after it was made, the call from the heart has now been answered with a no
00:07 from Australians. As the sun set on a year of gruelling debate, Anthony Albanese accepted
00:16 responsibility. While tonight's result is not one that I had hoped for, I absolutely
00:23 respect the decision of the Australian people and the democratic process that has delivered
00:30 it. Polling trends predicted the voice would fail, but yes, campaigners didn't expect such
00:35 a resounding no. This is a very difficult result. This is a very hard result. With no
00:42 votes from around 60% of the country and more than half of Labor's own electorates voting
00:48 against the proposal, there's clear soul searching to be done on the campaign's strategy.
00:54 Referendums are tough to win. It doesn't help if you don't have bipartisanship. I know that
00:58 as I travelled across the country I think I spent more time trying to correct misinformation
01:04 and disinformation out there. This country going to the referendum to decide on our destiny
01:10 was the wrong thing to do. There are some putting pressure on the opposition leader
01:14 Peter Dutton to make good on his pledge for another referendum. He indicated very clearly
01:21 to the Australian population that if this referendum failed he would then take another
01:26 referendum to the population. That's up to Mr Dutton to then progress that. They haven't
01:32 rejected Indigenous Australians. They've rejected the voice and the government's proposal. While
01:38 Peter Dutton's position was successful, the referendum casts further doubt on any pathway
01:44 to government for the coalition. Almost all of the Teal independents brought their electorates
01:49 with them in a yes vote, signalling those voters are continuing to drift away from the
01:54 Liberal Party. In the wake of defeat, Aboriginal communities urged to draw on their resilience.
02:00 We have survived for 65,000 years. There is no other culture as resilient as us. We'll
02:05 get back up and we come back with fire. The problems need to be solved. We come back to
02:10 the table and we move. To all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, I want to say
02:20 this. I know the last few months have been tough, but be proud of who you are. Be proud
02:32 of your identity. The referendum was the culmination of a generation of advocacy work by Indigenous
02:39 leaders. With the voice now crushed under the weight of a no vote, some campaigners
02:45 are asking for space and silence. Now is the time for silence, to mourn and deeply consider
02:53 the consequence of this outcome. While an enshrined voice is no longer an option, there
02:59 are still processes underway around the country for voices to be heard at a state and territory
03:04 level. Nationally, attention will now turn to the other parts of the Uluru Statement
03:09 from the Heart, being the Makarrata Commission for Truth-Telling and Treaty, which gets its
03:14 name from the Yolngu language, meaning coming together after a struggle, something the country
03:20 must now seek to do.
03:21 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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