“Australia has overwhelmingly rejected a plan to give greater political rights to Indigenous people in a referendum,” according to the BBC, Oct. 14, 2023. Australia’s six states voted no to a proposal to amend the constitution to recognize First Nations people and create a body for them to advise the government. Supporters argued that entrenching Indigenous peoples into the constitution would unite Australia and usher in a new era. However, no leaders claimed the idea would create special “classes” of citizens and slow government decision-making. The “No” campaign was criticized for its appeal to undecided voters with a “Don’t Know? Vote No” message and was accused of running a campaign based on misinformation about the effects of the plan. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who make up 3.8% of the nation’s 26 million population, have inhabited Australia for at least 65,000 years but are not mentioned in the constitution. This was the second time the issue of Indigenous recognition was put to a national vote; the last attempt was in 1999. Dean Parkin, the director of the Yes23 campaign group, said, “We have never and will never mean you any harm. All we have wanted is to join with you, our Indigenous story, our Indigenous culture, not to take away or diminish what it is that you have, but to add to it, to strengthen it, to enrich it.”