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When the Referendum to give Australia\\u2019s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders greater political rights was first announced, it was well received, with the early polls suggesting that more than sixty percent of Australians supported it.

This was an opportunity for the establishment of an advisory body to Parliament that would allow Indigenous Peoples a voice on the issues affecting their own communities and for them to be recognised in the Australian constitution.

The \\u2018YES\\u2019 campaign said their proposals outlined in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, requested a modest yet profound change, allowing Indigenous Australians to take their \\u2018rightful place\\u2019 in their own country.

Whilst the \\u2018NO\\u2019 campaigners argued that the \\u2018Voice to Parliament\\u2019 would be racially divisive, giving Indigenous Peoples greater rights over other Australians.

In the end Australia voted \\u2018NO\\u2019 to changing the status quo, by an overwhelming majority.

This week on The Inquiry, we\\u2019re asking \\u2018What went wrong with Australia\\u2019s Indigenous call for a voice?\\u2019

Contributors: \\nJohn Maynard, Emeritus Professor, Aboriginal History and Research, University of Newcastle, NSW Australia. \\nTim Soutphommasane, Chief Diversity Officer, Professor of Practice in Human Rights and Political Theory, University of Oxford, UK and a Former Race Discrimination Commissioner for Australia \\nAndrea Carson, Professor of Political Communication, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia \\nThomas Mayo, Indigenous Rights Advocate, Maritime Union of Australia Official and Author

Presenter: David Baker\\nProducer: Jill Collins\\nResearcher: Matt Toulson \\nTechnical Producer: Richard Hannaford\\nProduction Co-ordinator: Jordan King\\nEditor: Tara McDermott

Image: Voice Referendum in Australia: Credit: Reuters.

Audio for this episode was updated on 20th November 2023.