As the dust settles on the Voice referendum, WA state political reporter Keane Bourke explains how the west was lost, and what it means going forward for First Nations people.
The beaming Western Australian sun was still high in the clear, blue sky when it became abundantly clear the rest of the nation did not support an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
But in a place where the gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians remain among the greatest in the country, a public debate which at times strayed from those issues has left the path forward far from clear.On Thursday, the only Aboriginal MP in WA's upper house, Rosie Sahanna, stood for 15 minutes to explain why her colleagues on both sides of the aisle should support the Voice.
Despite having little to do with the Voice, the blowing up of ancient rock shelters and a bungled attempt to preserve Aboriginal heritage are the issues shaping the referendum debate in WA.Instead, the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage debacle is what seemed to dominate the public's attention, headlines, and the No campaign's messaging, for months.Before the controversy erupted the leaders of both Opposition parties stood side-by-side with the government in supporting the Voice.
One reading of the results suggests it influenced the final tally, with some of the areas which most strongly opposed the Voice in regional WA, like the federal seats of O'Connor and Durack, while more suburban seats had stronger Yes support.Another is that it didn't have as big an impact, with Western Australia's Yes vote higher than both Queensland and South Australia.
Senator Cash and her colleagues want that to begin with an audit of spending on Indigenous organisations, first put forward by Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.Indigenous leaders like Jesse Fleay, an academic and one of the co-authors of the Uluru Statement From the Heart, want more grassroots change.
Australians, and Western Australians, last night said no to a Voice to Parliament, and to Constitutional recognition.Western Australians might have been the last to be heard in the referendum.
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