Native Aussies angry at referendum defeat

Aboriginal Australians on Sunday voiced anger and sorrow over the rejection of a landmark push for their rights and recognition in a national referendum.

Indigenous leaders called for a "week of silence" to mourn the "bitter" outcome of the poll.

More than 70 percent of ballots were counted Sunday morning and around 60 percent of Australian voters said "no" to the proposal to amend the 1901 constitution to include recognition of native inhabitants and creation of a consultative body that will serve as their voice in parliament and work to solve pervasive inequalities plaguing Aboriginal communities.

Aboriginal advocacy groups said Sunday that millions of Australians had ignored the chance to atone for the "brutal dispossession of our people."

"Now is the time for silence, to mourn and deeply consider the consequence of this outcome," a joint statement read.

"The truth is that we offered this recognition and it has been refused. We know now where we stand in our own country," it added.

Political gains have not come easily for Aboriginal Australians, who have fought tooth-and-nail over the years to secure basic voting rights, own traditional lands, and win election to parliament.

Against this backdrop, Indigenous "yes" campaigner Dean Parkin said the crushing outcome was "painfully familiar" and just the latest "chapter in the story of our struggle."

Supporters saw the referendum as a way to unite the country while addressing the historical injustices inflicted upon First Nations people.

Instead, it has exposed the deep racial fault lines that still run through the country more than two centuries since British colonizers dropped anchor in Sydney Harbor.

Albanese has vowed that his government will continue working to deliver Indigenous recognition — although it is unclear what options remain.

Prominent Aboriginal activist and scholar Marcia Langton declared that decades of work to build trust between Australians had failed.

"Reconciliation is dead," she told an Indigenous television broadcaster.

WITH AFP