TRANSCRIPT
Anthony Albanese says he has no regrets about proposing a referendum on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. In his address to the nation after every state voted no, he said it was the still right thing to do.
But the Liberal's deputy leader Sussan Ley says it was a waste of everybody's time.
"This failure is on the Prime Minister. I take no joy in the result. But this is a referendum we didn't need to have."
The Opposition is hoping Anthony Albanese will pay a political price for the referendum's failure.
Nationals leader David Littleproud has been among the Coalition MPs to hammer the government and Prime Minister with criticism over the Voice proposal.
"Sadly, all the Prime Minister's managed to do over the last 16 months is drive up people's cost of living and divide the country. It's important that he now focuses on what's important to Australian people, particularly the cost of living pressures that he's put on the Australian people. That's what they want this government to focus on."
Questions are also being asked about how to close the gap of Indigenous disadvantage without an advisory body to inform policy decisions.
Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie has told Channel 9 Indigenous communities have paid the price for a lack of action over the last couple of years.
"Basically the Labor party has put Indigenous communities out there on life support. They've done nothing for two years and you have no plan B. And now they're talking about 'we want to go into the cost of living'. But you don't want to talk about the failure that you've set up in the last two years. You've done nothing in those communities except make them worse. We've got a problem, and that is the discussion we should be having this week."
Liberal MP Julian Leeser, who resigned from the opposition frontbench to campaign in favour of the Voice, says politicians from both major parties need to recommit to Reconciliation.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles says that's the way the government wants to go.
"We can take from the referendum an increased resolve to act on Closing the Gap and to act on Reconciliation. And that's really what we need to take forward now, in a sense of unity across the country."
Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney says she plans to unveil further measures to that end. But the Nationals' David Littleproud says he takes a more positive view of the current situation.
"We're already in reconciliation. I think there has been a generosity of spirit and a generosity of financial support where there is disadvantage. And I think Australians shouldn't talk themselves down. We have Closed the Gap in many parts of this country through that generosity of spirit."
His Liberal partners don't appear to be so convinced.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton wants to see a royal commission into child sexual abuse in Indigenous communities, and an audit into spending on Indigenous programs.
"We're setting up a process with Jacinta and Kerrin as I announced on Saturday night. And that's an important process for us because we've got to stop the rorts and ripoffs. We've got to make sure that people are getting the money in the communities who are most in need, and that's really what we're concentrating on."
Meanwhile the Opposition's Leader's previous pledge to hold a second referendum on Indigenous recognition - should the Coalition be returned to government - is already in doubt.
"All of our policy - obviously as I said on Saturday night - is going to be reviewed... and I think it's clear that the Australian public is probably over the referendum process for some time."
