Australia rejects Indigenous referendum in setback for reconciliation

FILE PHOTO: A depiction of the Australian Aboriginal Flag is seen on a window sill at the home of indigenous Muruwari elder Rita Wright, a member of the "Stolen Generations", in Sydney, Australia, January 19, 2021.. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia on Saturday decisively rejected a proposal to recognise Indigenous people in the constitution, in a major setback to the country's efforts for reconciliation with its First Peoples.

Australians had to vote "Yes" or "No" in the referendum, the first in almost a quarter of a century, on the question of whether to alter the constitution to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people through the creation of an Indigenous advisory body, the "Voice to Parliament".