The Voice to Parliament referendum has failed with voters in Pearce and Durack following the state and national trend of voting No.

According to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) 30.7 per cent of Pearce voters in yesterday’s [14 October 2023] referendum voted Yes while 69.3 per cent voted No.

In Durack 27.8 per cent of voters voted Yes while 72.2 per cent voted No.

On a state-wide basis 36.4 per cent of West Australians voted Yes and 63.6 per cent voted No.

Prior to the defeat of the Voice to Parliament Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the referendum was Australia’s chance to get it right.

“It will only be when we at last listen properly to Indigenous voices that we can close the gap that runs like a chasm through the heart of our country,’’ he said.

“Diseases eradicated from most of the planet are a bleak reality in many Indigenous communities.

“The starkest statistic is the fact that on average, the life of an Indigenous Australian is eight years shorter than a non-Indigenous Australian.

“Each statistic is a name, a face, a loved one, an ocean of grief.

“A No vote means no change, just a broken status quo.

“No is the situation we are living now.

“Yes means rejecting the option of doing nothing – that is no option at all.

“Yes means recognising this is the best chance of a way forward we’ve ever had.

“And because Australians are a fair, compassionate and courageous people, I believe we’re ready to take this step together.’’

After the referendum federal Opposition Attorney General spokeswoman Michaelia Cash said she was proud that her fellow Western Australians saw through Mr Albanese’s Voice as legally risky, unknown, divisive and permanent.

“I know from talking with many West Australians in the lead up to this referendum that everyone wants the best possible outcomes for Indigenous Australians, but they just did not think this was the best way to do it,’’ she said.

“Most would have voted for constitutional recognition, but this referendum was not simply about recognition – it went much further than that – and West Australians realised that.”

Senator Cash said West Australians saw the Cook state government’s disastrous Aboriginal Cultural Heritage laws repealed but knew that a Voice in the Constitution would not be able to be repealed by parliament.

“Mr Albanese has needlessly divided this country by overreaching and trying to pull the wool over Australians eyes,’’ she said.

“Mr Albanese now needs to take responsibility for the result of the referendum and for dividing this country,’’ she said.

“I urge all Australians to unite, and together we can address the many challenges facing our country.

“The first step to addressing indigenous disadvantage is the coalition’s demand for accountability for the billions of dollars funnelled out of Canberra that don’t properly reach the remote and regional communities where it is most needed.’’

She did not say if the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) established by the Morrison government in 2019 should be part of that accountability.

The NIAA is the lead Commonwealth agency responsible for policy development, program design and implementation and service delivery in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The National Indigenous Times (NIT) has reported that Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney in August criticised the NIAA after Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) found widespread inaccuracies in its fraud management systems.

NIT said the ANAO found the agency which had its budget increased in 2022-23 to $4.5b was failing to properly detect and manage fraud.

Ms Burney was critical of the systems put in place by the Morrison government and said strong governance and accountability were critical to ensuring delivery of high-quality services and better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Then in September NIT reported that NIAA awarded a lucrative contract to PwC’s ‘Indigenous Consulting’ division PIC on May 23, days after PwC was taken to task by the Australian government over selling tax policy information to multinationals for millions of dollars.

NIAA told the NIT that it had been assured that none of the PwC Indigenous Consulting staff were involved in the PwC Australia tax scandal.

Senator Cash also did not mention the Opposition’s role in moving towards a Voice back when former Liberal Ken Wyatt was a member of the Coalition government.

Mr Wyatt, who was the first Aboriginal Australian to serve in Cabinet when he was appointed Indigenous Australians minister (2019-2022), was appointed co-chair of the joint select committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in his first term of Parliament.

This article appeared on Yanchep News Online on 15 October 2023.