Initially, polls showed roughly two-thirds of Australians supported the idea of an Indigenous “Voice to Parliament.” But after a poor performance in the 2022 election, leaders of the conservative coalition saw an opportunity to dent Albanese’s popularity and regain momentum, according to analysts.
“It was really done and dusted from that point,” said Paul Williams, a political scientist at Griffith University in Brisbane, adding that a tough economic climate didn’t help.
Indigenous people have lived in Australia for around 65,000 years but suffered greatly with the arrival of the British in 1788.The Indigenous population plummeted under colonial rule due to imported diseases and massacres committed by White settlers. From the mid-1800s to the 1970s, federal and state governments systematically removed Indigenous children from their families to assimilate them.
Unlike other nations the British colonized, such as the United States, Canada and New Zealand, Australia has never recognized the sovereignty of its First Nations people with a treaty.
