Anthony Albanese is facing calls to resign as Prime Minister over the failed Voice to Parliament referendum, with opponents accusing him of a poisonous debate.
Australia has overwhelmingly rejected the Voice, with an estimated 60 per cent of Australians voting no with nearly three-quarters of the vote counted on Sunday morning.
No campaigners have already begun to call for the prime minister’s head in the wake of the vote, including Sky News Host Andrew Bolt.
South Australian Opposition Leader David Speirs said that Labor needed to “make a call”
“Some people are saying he should resign. He should resign because the damage he has done to our country and to the very fabric of what it means to be Australian is, quite frankly, heartbreaking,” Mr Spiers said.
“The prime minister should think about his future. I don’t think he will resign but there are international precedents there.”
Sky News host Andrew Bolt joined the calls for Mr Albanese to go over the “poison” generated
“I just wonder now how he can continue as Prime Minister. He’s put us through this nightmare and wasted nearly $400 million of taxpayers money, putting Australians at each other’s throats,” he said on Saturday night.
“And unfortunately the poison from all this will survive.”
Liberal Senator Michaelia Cash also lashed the PM on Saturday evening before calling for a funding probe into Indigenous organisations.
“Shame on the Prime Minister,” Senator Cash told Sky News.
“Mr Albanese decided to pursue politics over good policy, and tomorrow he needs to explain to the Australian people why he chose to go down this path. It has been a very traumatic last 12 months for the majority of Australian people.”
In the wake of the loss, Indigenous leaders involved in the Yes23 campaign have declared that now was a “time for silence, to mourn and deeply consider the consequence of this outcome”.
“The referendum was a chance for newcomers to show a long-refused grace and gratitude and to acknowledge that the brutal dispossession of our people underwrote their every advantage in this country,” the statement said.
“For more than six years, we have explained to our nation why the Voice was our great hope to achieve real change for our families and communities.”
“Much will be asked about the role of racism and prejudice against Indigenous people in this result. The only thing we ask is that each and every Australian who voted in this election reflect hard on this question.”
“We are calling A Week of Silence from tonight (Saturday 14th October) to grieve this outcome and reflect on its meaning and significance. We will not be commenting further on the result at this time.”