“We Had All the Good Songs!”

Paul Pickering and Matt Qvortrup

Our title comes from the “The Folk Song Army”, penned in 1965 by Tom Lehrer, a well-known American singer-songwriter and satirist. Lehrer poked fun at all and sundry including the activists of his own day, by invoking the political and military campaigns against the actions of the putative fascist dictator, General Franco, during the Spanish Civil War:

Remember the war against Franco?

That’s the kind where each of us belongs.

Though he may have won all the battles,

We had all the good songs!

Many among the supporters of the campaign to include an Indigenous Voice in the Australian Constitution were convinced they were on the right side of history and that history would take its course. They had “all the good songs”. Those who campaigned against the Referendum also believed that they were singing “good songs”, and, in terms of Referendums, history was on their side. Australians in significant numbers rejected the Voice Referendum: they sang a song of their own choosing.

In this volume, “We had all the good songs!” is a question rather than a statement.

We thought it appropriate to let some among the elected political actors who debated the process, which would send voters to polling booths on Saturday 14 October 2023 sing first. So, we begin by including from the Commonwealth Hansard the Second Reading speeches given by three Indigenous women – each of whom would go on to play pivotal roles in the campaign – on the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023 Bill as it progressed through the parliament.

Three Speeches

Commonwealth of Australia, Parliamentary Debates

Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023

Second Reading

House of Representatives

Monday, 22 May 2023

Speaker, Burney, Linda Jean MP

Ms BURNEY (Barton – Minister for Indigenous Australians) (13:03): We have just heard, in one speech, every bit of disinformation and misinformation and every scare campaign that exists in this debate. I am very pleased that politicians can step out of this, after this debate on the alteration bill, because the one thing I agreed with, in terms of the Leader of the Opposition, is that this is not a decision or a plaything of politicians. It is a decision of the Australian people.

Almost fifty-six years ago today, Australians voted in the 1967 referendum. It was a major turning point in the Australian story, a unifying moment, one that appealed to Australians’ innate sense of fairness. In 2023, Australians will again vote in the referendum, one based on hope: hope for a better future, hope built on the aspirations of Indigenous Australians embodied in the Uluru Statement from the Heart. In 2023, it is time for recognition. It is time for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to the Parliament, because Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have not enjoyed the same opportunities as so many other Australians. In fact, Indigenous Australians have been left behind. There is an almost nine-year gap in life expectancy and a gap in infant mortality, and our young people are robbed of their potential, languishing behind bars in a justice system that has let them down. It isn’t good enough. Something has to change and change for the better.

Later this year we will get the chance to do something better, because constitutional recognition through a Voice to the parliament is about giving Indigenous Australians a say in matters that affect them. It means delivering structural change that empowers Indigenous communities. It means getting better advice so that we get better policies and better outcomes. Let me be clear. The disadvantages experienced by Indigenous Australians are not the fault of any single individual today, but it is all about responsibility to strive for a more reconciled future, a better future that recognizes First Nations people’s rightful place in this country, a better future that genuinely listens to the needs and aspirations of Indigenous Australians, which brings me to the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

Almost six years ago today, Indigenous Australians from right across the country gathered at Uluru to deliver a statement from the heart in a historic First Nations consensus on a way forward. The statement was supported by over 250 delegates following consultation with 1,200 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were involved in the referendum council lead-up Uluru dialogues. To Megan Davis, Noel Pearson and Pat Anderson: thank you for your leadership during this pivotal time. This great endeavour has not been rushed into. No shortcuts have been taken. It has been a grassroots movement, the culmination of years of discussion, consultation and hard work by so many. At its heart the Uluru statement is about listening, listening to the advice from on the ground in communities, because listening is a prerequisite for policies that work, good policy that makes a practical difference, policy like the Indigenous-led health clinics delivering dialysis or treatment for rheumatic heart disease where people live, improving health outcomes and saving whole families from endless travel; policy like the Indigenous Rangers programme, which has reduced unemployment rates, given young people a sense of purpose and boosted the protection of our unique natural environment. Making a practical difference – that’s what recognition through the Voice is about.

After the Prime Minister’s speech at Garma, Senator Patrick Dodson and I appointed a group of First Nations representatives to guide government through the referendum, working and engagement groups. I can honestly say that in all my years in public life, I have never seen people come together with such singularity and purpose, with so much wisdom and experience, and such determination to make a practical difference for the next generation. I also give a special thanks to the expert legal group for their expertize and intellectual rigour. I also want to thank my good friend, the special envoy, Senator Dodson, a true fighter. Pat, I want you to know we’re all thinking of you at the moment. I acknowledge, too, the leadership, dedication and diligence of the Attorney-General.

Details

Pages: XXIV, 198
Publication Year: 2026
ISBN (PDF): 9781805840473
ISBN (ePUB): 9781805840480
ISBN (Softcover): 9781805840466
DOI: 10.3726/b22943
Language: English
Publication date: 2026 (June)
Keywords: Australian politics indigenous relations Australian history referenda
Published: Oxford, Berlin, Bruxelles, Chennai, Lausanne, New York, 2026. xxiv, 198 pp., 1 fig. b/w, 2 tables.
Product Safety: Peter Lang Group AG

Biographical notes

Matt Qvortrup (Volume editor) Paul Pickering (Volume editor)

Matt Qvortrup is a constitutional lawyer and an internationally recognized comparative political scientist with expertise on referendums. He is a Professor of political science at University of Notre Dame, and a Senior Research Fellow, in the Centre for European Studies, Australian National University. He was previously a journalist at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) based in Alice Springs. Paul Pickering is founding Director of the Australian Studies Institute and a Professor in the School of Politics and International Relations, Australian National University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. During 2024 he was the Gale Fellow at the Centre for Digital Scholarship and the Bodleian Libraries, Oxford University, and in 2025 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Australian Historical Association.

“We Had All the Good Songs!”

Summary

Excerpt

Table Of Contents

Contents

Acknowledgements