Reflections on The Voice Referendum 2023

In light of the recent referendum results, it is important to unpack influencing factors that led to the defeat of the proposal for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. There needed to be a majority nationally as well in four of the six states. The ACT was the only territory that had a majority of Yes votes, with every other state and territory voting against the Voice. Despite polls leading up to the referendum anticipating a loss, there was shock as to how far we swung to ‘No’ as a nation (60.52% nationally). The technological and political landscape’s influence on the large-scale engagement process are necessary considerations as we reflect on what has happened and where we go from here.