Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government would “continue to seek better outcomes” after voters rejected a referendum that would have recognized Indigenous Australians in the constitution. File Photo by Paul Braven/EPA-EFE

The referendum would have created an Indigenous advisory organization, designed to be a permanent fixture of Parliament but which would not have had veto power over legislation.

The proposal would have also amended Australia’s constitution to recognize Native Australians.

Australian broadcaster ABC projected the referendum has been defeated nationally by about 60% to 40%. In order for a constitutional amendment to pass, a majority of Australians, 51% or more, need to vote yes nationwide as well as majorities in at least four of Australia’s six states.

Albanese, who supported the referendum, acknowledged the defeat Saturday but said his government “will continue to seek better outcomes for Indigenous Australians and their children and for generations to come.”

Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney called Saturday “a day of sadness” for Australians who backed the measure but did not receive the result they had hoped for.

“The Australian people have had their say and a clear majority have voted against the proposed change to the constitution,” she said. “We of course accept the decision of the Australian people.”

Progress, she added, “doesn’t always move in a straight line, there are breakthroughs and heartbreaks, but I am confident that because of this campaign and the millions of conversations that it has sparked, that a new generation of indigenous leaders will emerge.”

In the run-up to the vote, Albanese appealed to Australians to approve the proposal by saying what Aboriginal people wanted for their children was the same as all Australians — healthcare, education good jobs, staying safe and leading fulfilling lives.

Giving local people a say would also save money by ensuring state funding actually reaches the people on the ground, reducing waste and getting better results where they are needed, the prime minister said.

Critics in the opposition Liberal Party, however, said the effort was dividing the country at a time when it needed to come together.

Party leader Peter Dutton said changing changing the constitution “to enshrine a Canberra Voice Bureaucracy will take our country backward, not forwards. The prime minister is dividing with his Voice proposal, not uniting us.”