Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

First, in relation to the referendum, I appreciate that you took a different view to many in the Australian community. I would point out—you may say it was wasted—that we went to the election after having consulted with many Indigenous leaders who took a different view to the one you've outlined, and, having looked at and considered closely the Statement from the Heart and the process which led to that, we made a commitment to the people of Australia that we would hold a referendum, and we did. Obviously there was a result that we accept. We recognise that that requires a different path, and, as Ms Burney has said, that will be something this government continues to consult on—the way forward. I hope that one of the things that we did come to in that referendum campaign is, while many people did not agree with a particular constitutional proposition, that—