Despite the efforts of the largest volunteer army ever assembled in Australia, on 14 October 2023 the Voice to Parliament referendum failed, causing disappointment and hurt in the hearts of First Nations people and their allies across the continent.

Throughout the campaign, Reconciliation Australia consistently reminded supporters that regardless of the result, our work towards reconciliation and justice would continue.

After all, First Nations people having a say in their own affairs has been central to reconciliation since the beginning of the formal reconciliation process more than 30 years ago.

The referendum result shone a very bright light on the harsh truth that Australia has a long way to go on its reconciliation journey. This was starkly illustrated in the ignorance and racism that characterised a large amount of the public discourse during that time.

Still Yes

But it is also true that, despite a huge misinformation campaign, six million Australians voted ‘Yes’.

60,000 people volunteered their time and support to the campaign and many First Nations communities voted in favour of the Voice to Parliament.

Unprecedented numbers of organisations, schools, community groups and sports teams also pledged their support.

Support for First Nations justice and self-determination continues after the referendum. In May 2024 international polling company Ipsos found that 78% of Australians still believe First Nations people should have a say in the laws and political decisions that affect them.

We are encouraged by increasing participation in our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) and Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education programs. There are currently over 3,300 active RAP partners, and over 2,000 schools and early learning services have joined us in actively promoting reconciliation in education.

We are encouraged by the way Australians embraced the 2024 National Reconciliation Week theme, Now More Than Ever, stressing the vital importance of staying engaged, connected, and committed to reconciliation; and by the more than 500 choirs across Australia who joined us in singing the Warumpi Band classic Blackfella/Whitefella.

We are heartened by the innovation, ingenuity and sheer determination of the applicants to our Indigenous Governance Awards 2024; organisations who exercise their self-determination to successfully build better lives for their families and communities.

Like these groundbreaking organisations our work did not stop after the referendum; like them we have been getting on with the job.

Rather than slowing the historical trend towards reconciliation the referendum defeat demanded that those who advocate for reconciliation and First Nations self-determination must work harder for justice, anti-racism and truth-telling.

We acknowledge our collective power to support, engage and invest in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices and continue to centre First Nations aspirations and self-determination.

We will remain active in supporting and promoting truth-telling to ensure Australians understand and accept the wrongs of the past and the impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and that Australia makes amends for past policies and practices and ensures these wrongs are never repeated.

In short, the referendum loss has not discouraged us but strengthened our will to work harder and better for a just, equitable, and reconciled nation now and for future generations.

To do less would be to dishonour the ancestors of First Nations people and non-Indigenous allies who with enormous courage started and led our struggle for reconciliation and justice over decades.