One of the leading campaigners for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament has described Australia as a ‘nation frozen in time’ in an attempt to explain what went wrong during the historic referendum campaign.
Thomas Mayo was one of the most divisive figures throughout the campaign, and past comments he’d made linking the Voice to treaty and truthtelling were seized upon by critics in the early days as examples of the potential risks associated with the proposal.
Now, almost a month on from referendum night – in which 60 per cent of Australia and all six states voted against the proposal – Mr Mayo has tried to explain the result on the world stage.
Speaking to BBC UK’s ‘The Inquiry’ podcast, Mr Mayo laid blame squarely at the feet of the Opposition for their decision to oppose the Voice.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had committed to a Voice from the moment he took the top job, and supporters say the Opposition politicised the proposal for low level political point scoring.
Thomas Mayo was one of the most divisive figures throughout the campaign, and past comments he’d made linking the Voice to treaty and truthtelling were seized upon by critics in the early days as examples of the potential risks associated with the proposal
‘We were fighting on so many fronts, but the ultimate destruction of the opportunity came when the Opposition decided to go against it,’ he told host David Baker.
‘No referendum has ever won in this country without bipartisan support, but especially because they fought against it so hard, so vehemently.’
Mr Mayo acknowledged the Yes campaigns failed to deliver clear and concise messaging, a fact which confused voters and, in some instances, drove them to seek information from the No camp.
Now, as a result of the decisive No vote on October 14, Mr Mayo describes Australia as ‘a nation frozen in time’.
‘[It] isn’t a good place for Indigenous people,’ he said.
‘This isn’t a good thing for our country. We need to look at why this referendum that was so important to the national interests failed.’
There were tears and strong emotions on referendum night as Yes supporters realised – very quickly – there was no path forward to victory
Pictured: A Yes supporter reacts at the official Yes campaign event on referendum night
Mr Mayo told the podcast that mental health for First Nations people deteriorated throughout the campaign, and that the vitriol drove some supporters away from volunteering.
‘The intensity of it, the quantity of it, it was unprecedented, I think, in this country,’ he said.
‘I’m not naive.
‘I was on the receiving end. It really does become something that was quite harmful. It affected the mental health throughout the campaign of Indigenous people.’
Mr Mayo described the ‘painful aching emptiness in [his] chest’ and the ‘slap in the face’ moment he realised Australia had voted No.
He also criticised the Opposition’s attempts to ‘make it about race’ when, he says, was ‘false’ and ‘misleading people about it being risky’.
‘It wasn’t about race,’ he said. ‘Indigenous peoples aren’t a different race. We are a distinct people with a heritage and culture connected to this place.
‘We deserved recognition. It was a simple message… but we just couldn’t get it through.’
But he did say there was a positive to take from the referendum result, and that was that 40 per cent of Australians – about five million people – voted in favour of the proposal.
Thomas Mayo spoke at the event, slamming the No campaign which stood against the Voice
Mr Mayo says he is heartbroken about the outcome, and acknowledged there won’t be constitutional recognition in his lifetime
Mr Albanese and Ms Burney conceded defeat immediately after polls closed in WA – before counting had even properly gotten underway. By that point, there was already no path forward to victory
While it wasn’t enough to get the Voice over the line, it did ‘bring this to people’s kitchen tables’. Mr Mayo acknowledged that for many Australians, the ‘entrenched disadvantage of Indigenous people is not something they normally think about’.
Looking forward, Mr Mayo vowed to continue advocating for the implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart – just not constitutional recognition.
‘It won’t be done in my lifetime,’ he conceded. ‘But I do believe other people will do it, because we see from the polling results that young people voted Yes.
‘Our children are getting a different education about the truth of our colonial past, and why we have these disparities in the present.’
Despite Mr Mayo’s commitment to the Uluru Statement from the Heart, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Labor government are yet to establish their own path forward in the Indigenous Affairs portfolio.
Initially, the plan was to implement a Makarrata Commission to work alongside the Voice to Parliament, with the aim of delivering a treaty and truth-telling process.
But critics say moving forward with that project would directly go against the result of the referendum process – despite the referendum question not explicitly mentioning Makarrata.
Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney says she is waiting to consult with First Nations communities – who were grieving and had taken a vow of silence in the wake of the referendum defeat – before making any concrete decisions.
Yes campaigners had long warned that a No vote would impact Australia’s international standing.
The BBC podcast episode was titled: ‘What went wrong with Australia’s Indigenous call for a Voice?’ and featured Mr Mayo, along with three academics who each explained why the Voice failed.