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Anthony Albanese faces calls to resign after Voice to Parliament referendum fails

Anthony Albanese faces calls to resign after Voice to Parliament referendum fails

Some believe the Prime Minister needs to step down after supporting the losing side.

Anthony Albanese is facing calls to resign as Prime Minister of Australia after the Voice to Parliament referendum failed.

Aussies took to the polls for the first referendum in decades over the weekend.

They were tasked with deciding whether they wanted to enshrine First Nations people in the Constitution and to set up an advisory board that would consult parliament on issues that affected Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people.

While ballots are still being counted, it was revealed on Saturday night that around 60 per cent of the country had voted no.

The Yes campaign was understandably devastated by the result and said a week of silence will be conducted to grieve.

DAVID GRAY/AFP via Getty Images

As that is happening, there are question marks around Albanese's leadership.

He was a vocal campaigner of the Yes team and some people believe him backing the loser in the referendum shows he's out of touch with the majority of the country.

South Australia’s Opposition Leader David Speirs said: "Some people are saying he should resign.

"He should resign because the damage he has done to our country and to the very fabric of what it means to be Australian is, quite frankly, heartbreaking.

“The Prime Minister should think about his future. I don’t think he will resign but there are international precedents there."

Former Federal Member for Hughes, Craig Kelly, said the Prime Minister needs to 'consider his position' as the country's leader.

The Australian columnist Simon Benson also wrote: "Failure of the referendum doesn't necessarily go to fatality of leadership.

"But the question is whether there is a residual effect that goes to a broader issue of political competence and judgment.

"Is what has been exposed by the Voice reveal something endemic about how Albanese deals with the big issues?"


Plenty of people have taken to social media to echo these calls, with some saying Albanese should do the same as former British Prime Minister David Cameron when the Brexit vote favoured leaving the EU.

After the no vote was projected to win, Anthony Albanese addressed the country.

He said: "Tonight is not the end of the road and is certainly not the end of our efforts to bring people together.

"The issues we sought to address have not gone away and neither have the people of goodwill and good heart, who want to address them and address them we will."

The Voice to Parliament was suggested in the Statement from the Heart more than half a decade ago, which was created by hundreds of First Nations people.

Featured Image Credit: SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images. DAVID GRAY/AFP via Getty Images.

Topics: Australia, Politics