Why the Voice referendum failed – and what the government hasn’t learned from it
The defeat of the Voice referendum was not preordained. It reflected political misjudgement, inadequate preparation and a failure to treat constitutional reform as the serious democratic work it requires.
Recent articles in Indigenous-Affairs
29 January 2026
If we’re choosing a national day, there are better options
Australia's national day marks the beginning of its colonisation. There are better, more meaningful dates that reflect Australian nationhood and democratic choice.
25 November 2025
Massacres, memory and the Memorial: facing our most deadly war
The evidence is overwhelming – Australia’s Frontier Wars were real, deadly, and long, and a landmark new book lays it out in full. So when will the Australian War Memorial fully face the truth?
14 November 2025
Indigenous political candidates face less voter bias than parties might think: new research
When political parties consider potential Indigenous candidates, they often worry about voter backlash.
3 November 2025
‘No restrictions’ and a secret ‘wink’: Inside Israel’s deal with Google, Amazon
To secure the lucrative Project Nimbus contract, the tech giants agreed to disregard their own terms of service and sidestep legal orders by tipping Israel off if a foreign court demands its data, a joint investigation reveals.
15 October 2025
Embedding free, prior and informed consent in Australia’s legal framework
Tiarna Williams is one of six talented young Australians who will travel to the UN General Assembly in New York next week as part of the Global Voices project.
5 October 2025
Exposing the language of oppression: Debra Dank's 'Terraglossia'
At demonstrations about the genocide in Gaza, it has been encouraging to see that speakers have acknowledged the traditional owners of unceded sovereign lands.
26 September 2025
Reclaiming illegally granted Indigenous land: An interview with Wiradjuri man Paul Towney
Proud Wiradjuri descendant Paul Towney was out in front of the Federal Court of Australia on Gadigal land on Macquarie Street in Sydney city on 19 September 2025.
20 August 2025
Dead time
According to the recent report of the Productivity Commission, the number of First Nations people in Australian prisons is at an all-time high.
8 August 2025
Call for national action to prevent 'torture' or death of incarcerated First Nations children
Paediatricians in the Northern Territory see the dire effects of entrenched structural racism on Aboriginal children on a daily basis.
5 August 2025
Is the Northern Territory Government knowingly endangering First Nations children and young people?
It should be impossible to ignore heartbreaking evidence of the effects of structural racism on Aboriginal children and young people, particularly those caught in a fully discredited punitive system in the NT that now includes “torture” plus risks of death as well as trauma.
17 July 2025
Federal Court rules Australian Government doesn’t have a duty of care to protect Torres Strait Islanders from climate change
The Federal Court has handed down its long-awaited judgment in a four-year climate case brought by Torres Strait Islanders.
16 July 2025
It’s time for another reforming and agitating attorney-general
Just last month Australia celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Whitlam Government’s Racial Discrimination Act (1975), without much fanfare it has to be said.
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