Australia's last vote was all about Indigenous people. Now they say it's 'silence'

Part of the reason politicians try to steer clear of First Nations issues, according to experts and advocates, is that many believe they are too divisive and therefore electorally risky – especially after the failure of the Voice to Parliament referendum in 2023. Ahead of the vote, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on both sides of the debate told the BBC they hoped the unprecedented level of interest in their lives would build momentum for more policies to improve them. A long-term study of voter attitudes found that between January 2024 and January 2025 there was a sharp decline in the number of people believing it was the government's responsibility to reduce the gap in living standards between First Nations Australians and the rest of the population.