Yes campaign leader Thomas Mayo has said he refuses to accept the referendum’s No vote verdict on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
Despite the scale of the crushing defeat at the polls, Mr Mayo insisted to supporters: ‘We’re not taking No for an answer.’
Mr Mayo was the controversial figurehead of the official Yes23 campaign that backed the change to the constitution which would create the new advisory body.
He was one of the original signatories and architects of the Uluru Statement From The Heart in 2017 which triggered the referendum.
But his campaign failed miserably, losing millions of votes in the final few weeks before Saturday, with more than 60 per cent of Australians rejecting it.
The loss was so overwhelming, ABC’s Anthony Green was able to call the result at 7.25pm on Saturday, less than 90 minutes after east coast polling booths closed.
Just before the loss was confirmed, Mr Mayo took to the stage at the Yes23 vote count HQ at Wests Ashfield Leagues Club in Sydney to deliver his defiant message to supporters.
Yes campaign leader Thomas Mayo has said he refuses to accept the referendum’s No vote verdict on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament
Despite the scale of the crushing defeat at the polls, Mr Mayo insisted to supporters at Sydney’s Wests Ashfield League Club: ‘We’re not taking No for an answer.’
‘The campaign has never been about just Yes or No, two diametrically opposed words,’ Mr Mayo told activists on Saturday night, new video from the event revealed.
‘This has been about us. This has been about you. This has been about the Australian people. This has been about justice. And it doesn’t matter what happens tonight.
‘If it is a No answer, then we’re not lying down, we’re not taking No for an answer, and we will continue.’
Mr Mayo then unleashed a spray at the No campaign, accusing its activists and Opposition leader Peter Dutton of being ‘dishonest’ and ‘lied to the Australian people’.
He added: ‘There should be repercussions for this sort of behaviour in our democracy, they should not get away with this.
‘So when we succeed at this, let it be known that they did that. That they have lied to the Australian people. That dishonesty should not be forgotten.’
The one-time wharfie became a household name during the referendum campaign, working closely with Anthony Albanese’s government to help promote a Yes vote.
But comments from his past resurfaced in which he called for ‘rent’ to be paid to First Nations people, for the date of Australia Day to be changed and for reparations.
He later told Daily Mail Australia his opinion had changed as the referendum debate had progressed.
Critics also questioned Mr Mayo’s heritage. In an interview with the Betoota Advocate, he said he was shocked by the insinuations.
‘It’s been quite shocking to see photos of your parents being shared around, saying we’re not genuinely Indigenous,’ he said.
His father is from the Torres Strait Islands. His great-great-grandfather arrived in the Torres Strait from the Philippines, and married a local woman, while his grandparents on his mother’s side are English, Irish and Polish.
He was also accused of being a Communist after he spoke at a forum of Search Foundation, which was once linked to the former Communist Party of Australia.
‘I wasn’t from a family of activists or anything,’ he said. ‘I’ve never been a member of the Communist party.
He added: ‘You can mash up all these videos and make people look scary.’
Yes volunteers broke down crying as the as the results rolled in (pictured, scenes at a Sydney Yes23 event)
Every state voted down the Indigenous Voice to Parliament by a clear margin, with more than 60 per cent of all Australians rejecting the proposal
Once the result became clear, Yes campaigners vowed to take a ‘week of silence’ and in a statement added: ‘We now know where we stand in … our own country.’
About 9.30pm a furious two-page statement was shared on social media by the NSW Aboriginal Land Council and the Central Land Council vowing to take part a week of silence, including a media blackout, from Sunday.
Both the Yes23 and Uluru Dialogue groups said they endorsed the statement.
It read the week will be used to ‘grieve this outcome and reflect on its meaning and significance’.
‘We will be lowering our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags to half-mast for the week of silence to acknowledge this result. We ask others to do the same,’ the group said.
The group said they would need to ‘regather strength and resolve’, to look toward the future and consider a new path forward.
‘To our people we say: do not shed tears,’ the statement added. ‘This rejection was never for others to issue.
‘The truth is that we offered this recognition and it has been refused. We now know where we stand in this our own country. Always was. Always will be.’
The group said the reasons for this ‘tragic outcome’ will be ‘dissected in the weeks, years and decades to come’.
‘Much will be asked about the role of racism and prejudice against Indigenous people in this result,’ the statement said.
‘The only thing we ask is that each and every Australian who voted in this election reflect hard on this question.’
In Canberra, in the wake of the defeat, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for unity and said he accepted the outcome
In Canberra, in the wake of the defeat, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for unity and said he accepted the outcome.
He said he took ‘responsibility’ for the decision to hold the referendum and added: ‘Tonight’s result is not one that I had hoped for.
‘[But] I absolutely respect the decision of the Australian people and the democratic process that has delivered it.’
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
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