A few notes for overseas observers of Australia's fucked-up referendum:

1. The purpose was to establish a First Nations advisory body to the Federal Parliament. This had nothing to do with citizenship, or equal rights, or any of the other crap half-informed people seem to think was involved.

2. We needed a referendum to include the proposed body in the federal Constitution. The Constitution can only be amended via a referendum.

3. We needed to include the body in the Constitution because that would have protected it from being abolished by the next right-wing government without another referendum. Previous efforts to elevate First Nations control of First Nations issues have routinely been abolished by right-wing governments.

4. The sheer volume of disinformation has been as depressing as fuck.

5. Yes, there's racism throughout all of this. Also extreme ignorance, some of it wilful.