The Noes Have It

The Bill proposing an alteration to the Constitution to establish an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice passed both Houses of Parliament on 19 June 2023. This was the first step towards holding a referendum. At the same time, battle lines were being drawn in the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ camps. Peter Broelman suggests that the two sides to the ‘No’ case, represented here by Lidia Thorpe and Pauline Hanson, would work together to ensure the referendum failed – even though they were fundamentally at odds with each other.