Indigenous progress the focus after voice fails

Just under 40 per cent of Australians supported the Indigenous voice to parliament in Saturday's referendum.

The federal opposition attacked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for pursuing the referendum when polls showed it was heading for defeat.

They accused him of dividing the nation rather than pushing ahead with symbolic constitutional recognition without the advisory body, which they said they could have supported.

But the prime minister rejected that, saying he had an obligation to Indigenous communities to fulfil the level of recognition they had called for.

"(The referendum) was not out of convenience, it was out of conviction," he told parliament on Monday.

"I believe that when you make a commitment, including a commitment to Indigenous people, it should be fulfilled.

"The referendum was about listening to people and about getting better outcomes, and these principles will continue to guide me."

Mr Albanese said the result from the referendum would be difficult for many Indigenous people.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney said while she accepted the result, the pathway to closing the gap was not lost and she would unveil further measures to address disadvantage.

Opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price will also begin crafting the coalition's election policies to close the gap.

Senator Price went on the attack in parliament, pursuing the government over why it decided to go ahead with the referendum without splitting the question, meaning solely symbolic recognition did not get up despite multi-party support.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Labor had committed to taking the request by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to Australia.

"People should also respect the views of the many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were part of that consultation process which led to the (Uluru) statement from the heart," she said.

The high 'yes' votes from Indigenous communities in places like the Tiwi Islands and Yuendumu "tells us a lot about what Indigenous Australians want", she said.

Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe - who spearheaded the progressive 'no' vote - said the government needed to focus on implementing the recommendations of a royal commission into deaths in custody.

The independent senator also pointed to recommendations from the Bringing them Home report, which outlined how to redress the impacts of forced removal policies and address the ongoing trauma people from the stolen generation face.

"Finally the dangerous distraction of the referendum is over and we can get back to the real fight," she said.

"Wake up, did the referendum not tell you we don't want some tokenistic gesture?

"We want real justice."

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has committed to a royal commission into child sexual abuse in Indigenous communities and an audit into spending on Indigenous programs.

"We've got to stop the rorts and rip offs, we've got to make sure people are getting the money in the communities who are most in need," he told reporters in Canberra.

But Mr Dutton talked down a previous pledge to hold a second referendum on Indigenous recognition.

The prime minister said the opposition leader was "all trailer, no movie" for the back down.

Independent Zali Steggall - whose northern beaches Sydney seat of Warringah recorded a 59 per cent 'yes' vote - said the campaign for a voice was sabotaged when the opposition politicised it.

But the 'no' campaign stood by its message, saying Australians voted against a divisive voice that would not have led to practical outcomes.

Leading 'no' campaigner Warren Mundine said a treaty with Indigenous people could not come in the form of the failed voice.

"It has to be with the traditional owner nations, and it's got nothing to do with sovereignty," he told ABC Radio.

"It's about how we move forward as a nation because we've got 26 million other people in this country now and we need to work together as a united country."

Australian Associated Press