55% voted against amending the country’s 122-year-old constitution.
SYDNEY: Australians have roundly rejected greater rights for indigenous citizens, scuppering plans to amend the country’s 122-year-old constitution after a divisive and racially-tinged referendum campaign.
Despite support from the country’s centre-left government, the “Yes” campaign had trailed in opinion polls for months, and a defeat was widely expected. More than 230 years since the first British penal ships anchored in Sydney, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese proposed the reforms as a step towards racial reconciliation.
In the days before the vote, media attention has focused as much on events in the Middle East as the political debate at home. Indigenous leader Thomas Mayo expressed fury at the conduct of the “No” campaign, which was backed by conservative opposition leader Peter Dutton.