Australian Indigenous leaders called for a week of silence and reflection after a referendum to recognise the First Peoples in the constitution was decisively rejected by a majority of the population.
"No" in the landmark referendum on Saturday, the first in almost a quarter of a century, that asked whether to alter the constitution to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people through the creation of an Indigenous advisory body, the "with the country's Indigenous community, and also for Australia's image in the world regarding how it treats First Nations people.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people make up 3.8% of the 26 million population and have inhabited Australia for about 60,000 years but are not mentioned in the constitution and by most socio-economic measures are the most disadvantaged people in the country. The leaders said the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island flag would be lowered to half-mast for the week to acknowledge the referendum result.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese staked significant political capital on the Voice referendum, but his critics say it was his biggest misstep since coming to power in May last year.
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