Australians will wake to a different Australia on Sunday, October 15. After a complex debate, the majority of Australians voted No to changing the Australian Constitution on October 14, 2023. Less than four hours after polls closed, the sixth state to vote No was announced with the national average also a No vote. at about 59 percent.
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The Parliament of Australia had agreed to propose adding a new chapter, Chapter IX-Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, to the Constitution after the development of the Uluru Statement from the Heart was created in 2017 by 243 of the 250 attending Indigenous Leaders.
The Uluru Statement from the Heart was a 439-word statement that called for Voice, Treaty, and Truth, beginning with recognition in the Australian Constitution for First Nations People.
A record number of Indigenous Australians registered to vote in the Referendum at 94.1 percent.
The Yes Campaign was based on a new way forward for better outcomes for the Indigenous people.
The No campaign claimed a Yes vote would be. divisive in the country.
David Lloyd campaigned for a No vote in the Horsham district and said on the announcement the Referendum had been lost that he was proud of Australians and the result.
"This vote is encouraging for our migrants who come to Australia and make it home, that we are all one under the Australian Constitution," he said.
Within half an hour of counting, the first results showed a substantial majority for the NO vote.
Voting closed at 6 pm. The ACT was the first territory to be called as a Yes vote, following closely was Tasmania with a No majority, and NSW called a No vote within an hour of polls closing.
The South Australian vote decided the outcome of the Referendum with a No vote called at 7.20pm by political analyst Anthony Green on the television coverage.
Queensland, NSW, and the Northern Territory are predicted to join the No vote.
Victoria was the fifth state predicted to result in a No vote, just over three hours after polls closed.
Western Australia had become the sixth state to vote No in the 2023 Referendum at 10pm.
For a referendum to be successful, a double majority' must vote Yes to the proposed changes.
A double majority is a national majority of state and territory voters, and four of the six states of Australia must result in a majority vote.
When Australians received their ballot paper to vote in Australia's 45th Referendum to change the Constitution to include an Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander Voice, they were told to write 'Yes' if they agreed with the proposed constitutional change or 'No' if they did not agree.
The proposed new Chapter in the Constitution would have included a new section 129, which would recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia with the following content that there should be a body to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, which would make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Subject to this Constitution, the Parliament would have had the power to make laws concerning the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, including its composition, functions, powers, and procedures.
.The public vote in a Referendum is binding.
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