Australia rejected a referendum that would have created an Indigenous advocacy committee to advise Parliament on policies impacting Indigenous people.

The vote tally: Early counting showed that 57% of voters opposed the Indigenous Voice, a proposed advocacy committee, and it was rejected in New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, and South Australia.
* The referendum needed majorities in at least four of the six states and a national majority to pass.
* Recent opinion polls indicated that a strong majority of Australians opposed the proposal, reversing the majority support it had received earlier in the year before the “no” campaign gained momentum.

Advocacy voices: Voice advocates Tanya Hosch and Tom Mayo expressed devastation at the defeat and blamed “a disgusting ‘no’ campaign” for misleading Australians.
* Advocates had hoped that including Indigenous views would lead to more effective government services and better lives for Indigenous Australians.

By the numbers: Indigenous Australians, who make up only 3.8% of the population, tend to die eight years younger than the wider population.
* They have a suicide rate twice that of the national average and suffer from diseases in remote Outback areas that have been eradicated in other wealthy countries.

Worth noting: Had it been successful, the Voice would have been the first referendum to pass since 1977 and the first ever to do so without the bipartisan support of the major political parties.

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