Riverina Voice to Parliament campaigners reflect on referendum result

Riverina for Yes co-captains Peita Vincent and Nick Spragg have thanked the campaign's volunteers and also extended their thoughts to First Nations communities across the region after the emphatic "no" result was quickly determined on Saturday night.

"The Riverina for Yes team wishes to thank them for the opportunity to stop and listen and learn. It has been our privilege to campaign alongside them for the Voice to Parliament," they said in a statement.

"We want to say thank you to the countless individuals who came out in support along the road.

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"It was so inspiring to see supporters from all ages, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, and from all walks of life working for Yes."

Ms Vincent said the campaign had drawn new people into the cause and she vowed to continue the momentum they'd built.

Uncle Hewitt Whyman, one of the campaign's key advocates, said they were now looking into the possibility of joining forces with other advocacy groups around the country.

Uncle Hewitt said there was strength in numbers and such a move would help them better advocate for change.

Mr Spragg said although he was sad the result was a "no", the number of young activists who had joined the cause had added new energy to the movement.

"It was refreshing to see young people - our next generation - giving such great support for this important moment in history," he said.

"We need to build on that strong base to find a new way to close the gap - that is the job now, for all of us.

"Although this is a disappointing result for those in the 'yes' campaign, there are a lot of people in this region, which is traditionally conservative, that voted 'yes' for change and recognised the need for Australia to do something differently to improve lives of our First Nations people."

Voice to Parliament opponent Cam O'Kane said the "no" vote didn't reflect people's feelings about Aboriginal people.

Mr O'Kane said the result showed Australians didn't like the idea of the Voice, not that they aren't interested in closing the gap.

"It's all well and good for them to say it's not working, let's try something new, but what are they doing to wrap up the things that aren't working?" he said.

"We do have a problem to solve. We do have to close the gap ... I just think there's better ways to have advisory bodies at the local level where Aboriginal people would be able to have their say.

"This is Australia standing up and saying 'we aren't mugs'."

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