Peter Dutton demands Anthony Albanese ‘apologise’ for pressing ahead with Voice referendum as proposal loses in landslide

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has declared the Prime Minister “owes the Australian public an apology” over his insistence on holding a referendum on the Voice to Parliament.

The proposal was overwhelmingly rejected by Australians on Saturday night, failing to come close to the required double majority referendum requirement.

All six states – as well as the Northern Territory – voted No in largely massive margins, while the national Yes vote sat just higher than 40 per cent.

With the referendum won and done, Mr Dutton attempted to remain humble, reaching out to Yes voters to declaring he respected their decision as he stood alongside senior No campaigner Jacinta Price in Brisbane shortly after the results became clear.

He also said the outcome of Saturday’s referendum did “not divide us as a people” as he reiterated his principal argument against the proposal.

“I have levelled my criticism at what I consider to have been a bad idea – to divide Australians based on their heritage or the time at which they came to our country,” Mr Dutton said.

“The Coalition, like all Australians, wants to see Indigenous disadvantage addressed. We just disagree on the Voice being the solution.

“This is the referendum that Australia did not need to have. The proposal and the process should have been designed to unite Australians, not to divide us.”

While he was a key figure in the campaign against the Voice to Parliament, Mr Dutton has not personally benefited from the No victory as opinions polls continue to show him trailing Anthony Albanese as the preferred Prime Minister.

On the back off the victory he turned his attention to the Prime Minister, demanding he apologise for pressing ahead with the historic vote.

“I think there is a real arrogance in the way in which the Prime Minister has approached his discussion with the Australian people,” Mr Dutton said.

“Even tonight in his speech you can hear the words almost of contempt for the Australian people dripping from what he is saying.

“The Prime Minister was warned over the course of the last 16 or 17 months not to proceed with this divisive referendum. And he owes the Australian public an apology for that.”

The Opposition Leader also reiterated his commitment to establishing a Royal Commission into child sexual abuse in Indigenous Communities.

Speaking directly to First Nations’ communities Mr Dutton said he would “do my utmost to lead with courage” to deliver practical solutions to close the gap including overseeing an extensive audit of Indigenous programs.

“So that we can get the money where it is needed, to those families in regional and remote areas,” he said.

“Importantly, we must also redouble our efforts to improve outcomes for Indigenous Australians in those disadvantaged communities and to close the gap.

“That includes an urgent need to boost law and order, to increase school attendance and employment at many remote communities and that means listening less to activists and more to people in those communities and those who championed them.”

The Liberal leader pledged to continue the focus on Indigenous Australians which was heightened by the Voice debate, a message he shared with the Prime Minister.

Mr Albanese lamented how disadvantage facing Indigenous Australians had too often been “relegated to the margins”, but welcomed how his government and the referendum “put it right at the centre”.

“The proposition we advanced at this referendum was about listening to people in order to get better outcomes, and these principles are what will continue to guide me as Australia’s 31st Prime Minister,” Mr Albanese said from Canberra on Saturday.

“Constitutional change may not have happened tonight, but change has happened in our great nation. Respect and recognition is given at events. The fullness of our history has begun to be told. Maintain your hope and know that you are loved.”