It was no surprise, in the end, when the October 2023 referendum on the constitutional enshrinement of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice was comprehensively defeated, given the concerted opposition of the Liberal-National Coalition. The history of Australian referendums is clear: bipartisan support is a necessary precondition for constitutional change.
While a great many of those on the political right were adamantly opposed to the Voice, a small number of constitutional conservatives attempted to persuade their political brethren of the benefits of change. These included Greg Craven, former vice-chancellor of Australian Catholic University, and Julian Leeser, former shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians, until he resigned from the shadow Cabinet to campaign for the Voice.
Closely aligned with Craven and Leeser were Jesuit priest Frank Brennan and academic Damien Freeman. Both have now published sorrowful assessments of the referendum. However, each account is diminished by its author’s unwillingness to entertain the notion that conservative politicians continue to engage in Indigenous affairs in bad faith.
Lessons from Our Failure to Build a Constitutional Bridge in the 2023 Referendum by Frank Brennan
Connor Court Publishing, $24.95 pb, 145 pp
The End of Settlement: Why the 2023 referendum failed by Damien Freeman
Connor Court Publishing, $24.95 pb, 123 pp
ABR receives a commission on items purchased through this link. All ABR reviews are fully independent.
Leave a comment
If you are an ABR subscriber, you will need to sign in to post a comment.
If you have forgotten your sign in details, or if you receive an error message when trying to submit your comment, please email your comment (and the name of the article to which it relates) to ABR Comments. We will review your comment and, subject to approval, we will post it under your name.
Please note that all comments must be approved by ABR and comply with our Terms & Conditions.
Comments