The proposal for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament was the first attempt to add Indigenous recognition to the Australian Constitution. Despite what appeared to be encouraging early opinion polls, support declined as the campaign proceeded. The result, as we know, was a resounding failure.
The referendum, “put with the aim of uniting Australians, instead prov[ed] to be one of the nation’s most divisive polls”, write the authors of People Power, a richly researched, grand narrative of Australia’s referendum history.
