"That's it?": Project host's hopes after dismay at Voice result
The Project host Rachel Corbett has shared her disappointment over the quick defeat of the Voice referendum, saying she is still "really hopeful" that Australians are on the right path to reconciliation.
Labor's proposed Voice to Parliament referendum was widely voted against in Saturday's vote, with only a single state or territory – the ACT – voting for constitutional change.
The defeat sparked a wave of grief and upset from pubic figures who were hopeful the Voice would pass, despite the polls predicting the defeat.
On Sunday night, Corbett told her fellow panellists that she was having difficulty coming to terms with the fact it was over in an instant.
“I could not believe how quickly it was decided. That’s it, we voted no. I am just really hopeful that the majority of people voted no for a specific thing,” she said.
“That they weren’t comfortable with this specific version of the Voice being enshrined, and not because they don't want to improve the lives of Indigenous people.”
Corbett feared Aboriginal Australians might take away from the vote that they’re not cared about, and that other Australians don’t “want to do something” to close to gap between white Australians and First Nations people.
“I‘m really hopeful that if this is not the solution, that we then find something else. Not that people were saying, we don’t want to help you.” Ms Corbett said.
Co-host Hamish McDonald said it was now the job of the country’s leaders to find the “common thread” between those who voted “Yes” and “No” on Saturday.
“Whose responsibility is it now to, as a nation, drive us forward on this path of reconciliation, which I think broadly people say is still desired or desirable,” he said.
“There are some indigenous leaders stepping back. Now, there are other leaders who’ve, I suppose, come to the fore during this. Is it on their shoulders? "
“Who it is that will emerge and carry this on their shoulders, or whether actually is all of us... I suppose that’s the bit that I’m wondering about today.”
Image credits: The Project