So we had the referendum we didn’t need to have, the whole premise of The Voice to Parliament was poorly thought out, disgracefully proposed, had no bipartisan support and was a waste of over $400 million of taxpayers money. 

Generally referendums fail, but one that sought to change the constitution of Australia had to be properly thought out. What the Albernese government offer was no solution, the details were going to be negotiated at a later time, that was once we ceded power to Canberra – nah. If we are going to make a profound change to the constitution, then the changes had better be properly discussed in a public forum, costed and implications identified.

Two real stars to come out of the campaign were Warren Mundine, a well known and well respected indigenous politician. When warren puts a case forward, it is worth taking note of what he has to say as he is pretty level-headed, well spoken and can articulate a strong and well researched case. Warren was a prominent No campaigner, he did not support The Voice to Parliament in its current state. Warren wants to make a difference to aboriginal lives and he knew this was not the vehicle to do so.

Jacinta Price was the star of the No campaign, she was not such a prominent politician as Warren Mundine at the beginning of the six week campaign. However, Anthony Albanese turned Senator Price into a superstar performer, she excelled in her take-down of the Yes campaign. Senator Price is from Alice Springs in central Australia. Jacinta lives in the very town where the changes need to be made, she knows better than most the challenges faced by ind indigenous communities.

Prominent Yes campaigner from the Albanese government Linda Burney was in all types of trouble in her electrate. There was an overwhelming No vote, I could argue Linda Burney did not Barton represent her electorate, voters in Barton voted 54.97% No and 44.03% Yes. Interestingly, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s inner city Greyndler electrolate voted strongly Yes at 74.3% and only 25.7% No. This inner city latte sipping electorate buckled the national trend of a roughly 60/40 split.

Despite Anthony Albanese’s personal success in his electorate, not one state in Australia supported the referendum. However, the Australian Capital Territory, the home of Canberra voted Yes. To keep some perspective, the Australian Capital Territory is really a small enclave in the state of New South Wales and many would argue out of touch with mainstream Australia. Canberra has only three electorates in the city itself with Bean voting Yes 53.35%  and No 43.66%, Canberra voting Yes 70.59% and No 29.41% along with Fenner Yes 57.44% and No 42.56%

At the time of Federation in 1901, there was a disagreement between Sydney and Melbourne where the national capital should be and no decision could be reached. So it was decided to build the national capital halfway between the two most populated cities in the country in basically a farmer’s field. Canberra began it’s life as a compromise, and that is still what Canberra is. Even now, Canberra is not a big city with a population of just 464,601 [March 2023]. Canberra is a just a political city, that is its whole purpose.

The national capital has no real industry, it is a political city mostly inhabited by career bureaucrats. Most people know what these left-wing government paper shufflers are all about. So it was no surprise why they voted Yes, Canberra is the problem. The vast majority of Australians want better outcomes for aboriginal Australians, they know Canberra is a money pit full of consultants and political activists that skim enormous sums of money away from the indigenous programs to better the lives of indigenous Australians that make up 3% of the population. 

So I propose a change to improve indigenous outcomes. The location of Canberra is so turn of the 20th century when transport was limited. A city such as Canberra that was halfway between the two major population centres almost made sense at that time. This is no longer the case, with modern transport systems, frequent airline services throughout the contrary, distances are significantly reduced. When Canberra was proposed in 1901, the first powered flight by the Wright brothers was still a couple of years away.

Moving the national capital to to heart of Australia makes sense, with modern transport infrastructure, a capital in Alice Springs is now feasible. The Canberra bureaucrats who voted for the indigenous Voice to Parliament can now back up their convictions. Setting up a capital in the centre of Australia will benefit indigenous Australians greatly. Moving the capital city to the heart and centre of the country will advance their cause significantly. 

The government infrastructure bring built will offer fantastic employment opportunities for local communities. With the rapid population growth of federal bureaucrats, the requirement to build communities will allow local indigenous people to interact directly with government officials. Even better, foreign embassies need to be built at the national capital, the opportunity for foreign diplomatic staff to directly interact with local communities will be outstanding.

Skills and training programs will be set up, with government programs set up, they will be easy to monitor from the new national capital. The crime will be significantly reduced, the national capital requires a well funded and organised police force, the crime on the streets of Alice Springs will be cleaned up. 

With international embassies set up in Alice Springs, the eyes of the world will be on the indigenous people of the area. The international press will be based at Alice Springs, the eyes of the world will now be focused on indigenous outcomes. Alice Springs will be an international city with federal government employees living and working in Alice Springs, local indigenous voices will be heard after all.