Despite the best of intentions, the prime minister’s determination to take Australians to a referendum on the Voice to Parliament has caused tremendous damage.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on Voice to Parliament referendum
Displaying 1 - 20 of 61 articles
The idea of equality is not what it used to be -–and it’s a political headache for Labor.
The “he said/she said” reporting of yesteryear no longer serves a democratic purpose. Media must do better at calling out lies and misinformation.
The vote demonstrated that the project of progressive politics in Australia remains brittle.
After a bitterly fought campaign, Australians have voted against an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament by a clear majority.
The latest results for the Voice to Parliament Referendum are showing a “no” majority nationally and among the states.
The decline in support for the Voice after initial strong polling demonstrates settlers are resistant to the idea of Indigenous peoples as a collective subject entitled to a unified Voice.
For decades, women from Munich to Melbourne, from Westminster to Washington, had been campaigning for a voice.
The PM also reconfirmed that if there is a no vote he will not seek to legislate a Voice
Exclusive polling shows that those who see Australia as a divided nation are far more likely to vote “no” than those who see it as united.
A ‘no’ result in the vote could compromise Australia’s moral authority when it seeks to advocate or pressure other states on human rights issues.
Despite the claim ‘there is no comparable constitutional body like this anywhere in the world’ many countries have similar institutions to the proposed Voice.
One interviewee told us: ‘Today our lives are being governed by a bureaucrat who hasn’t seen a Blackfella in their life or haven’t spoken to one.’
It is notoriously difficult for referendums to succeed in Australia – but there are lessons from those that have gone before about how to improve their chances.
From a legal standpoint, there is a difference between a state and a territory, and for some that justifies giving territory voters less say over changes to the national constitution.
While most repeat referendums fail, it is possible to succeed if the referendum proposal is altered or untethered from an unpopular element.
The ‘no’ side is successfully engaging young people on TikTok by combining volume (posting multiple TikToks a day) with authenticity, use of personal narratives and humour.
Unfortunately we’re a bit out of practice in how to conduct ourselves in a referendum. These seven rules may help.
It would have amazed campaigners from 1967 to see people today wearing outfits that overtly describe the movement.
It might sound like difficult terrain, but ideas of nationhood can be progressive as well as regressive, and could help bind Australians ahead of the Voice referendum.
Top contributors
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Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
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Professor emerita, University of Sydney
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Professor, UNSW Law School, UNSW Sydney
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Associate Professor, Faculty of Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney
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Professor of Political Communication, Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy, La Trobe University
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Professor, University of Sydney
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Translational Fellow Nulungu Research Institute, University of Notre Dame Australia
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Lecturer, Griffith Law School, Griffith University
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Director, La Trobe Asia and Associate Professor, La Trobe University, La Trobe University
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Associate Professor, Macquarie University
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Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne
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Professor, University of Notre Dame Australia
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Professor of History and Professor of Public Engagement, La Trobe University
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Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University
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Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne
