Government rules out further attempt at constitutional recognition following Voice referendum

As the federal government grapples with how to advance reconciliation and closing the gap in Indigenous health and well being following Saturday's referendum loss, deputy prime minister Richard Marles said there would not be any further attempt to change the constitution.

Asked on ABC's Insiders program if "that's it" for constitutional recognition, Mr Marles said "that's right".

"We're not heading down the path of another referendum. We've been making that clear for some time," he said.

"We acknowledge the result of this referendum ... and what this means is that ... Australians don't want to see this pursued through a change to the constitution."

During the referendum campaign Opposition leader Peter Dutton said the Coalition was committed to constitutional recognition for First Australians as "the right thing to do".

With almost 75 per cent of votes counted, nationally the "no" case had support from almost 60.3 per cent of the electorate compared with 39.7 per cent for the "yes" case.

The ACT was the only state or territory where the Voice proposition gained majority support, securing the votes of 60.8 per cent of the electorate.

In welcoming the referendum result on Saturday night, Mr Dutton repeated his call for a royal commission into child sexual abuse and and an audit of spending on indigenous programs.

Earlier, Health Minister Mark Butler said the government was "deeply" disappointed, but not surprised, by the referendum result.

The minister told Sky News Australia that the lack of bipartisan support for the Voice to Parliament made it difficult for the proposal to succeed.

"History tells us how hard referendum campaigns are to win if you don't have bipartisan support. And that support ... was withdrawn about six months ago after the loss of the NSW election and then the Aston by-election." Mr Butler said.

"So it's not a shock [but] it's obviously deeply disappointing to us."

A group of indigenous advocates for the voice have announced a week of silence to "grieve" the referendum outcome, which they dubbed a "bitter irony".

"Recognition in the constitution of the descendants of the original and continuing owners of Australia would have been a great advance for Australians. Alas, the majority have rejected it," they said in a statement issued Saturday night.

"This is a bitter irony. That people who have only been on this continent for 235 years would refuse to recognise those whose home this land has been for 60,000 and more years is beyond reason.

They said the week of silence would be used to "reflect on [the referendum's] meaning and significance".

But Opposition indigenous Australians spokeswoman and leading "no" campaigner Jacinta Nampijinpa Price on Saturday night hailed the result.

"[Australians have] said no to division within our constitution along the lines of race," Senator Price said.

"They've said no to the gaslighting, to the bullying, to the manipulation.

"They've said no to grievance and the push from activists to suggest that we are a racist country."

Opposition to the voice within the indigenous community, including from Senator Price, Senator Lidia Thorpe and Warren Mundine, is considered to have been a factor in undermining the "yes" case.

"No" advocates have seized upon the convincing rejection of the voice in the Northern Territory, where there was a 60.6 per cent "no" vote, as evidence that it lacked indigenous support.

But Australian Electoral Commission figures show there was a strong "yes" vote among remote communities.

Returns show majority support for "yes" in all but one of 22 mobile voting centres operated in the NT.

But Senator Price took a swipe at how the election was conducted in these communities, including the process of voting and campaigning activities.

"One thing we do know is the way in which Indigenous people in remote communities are exploited for the purpose of somebody else's agenda," she said.

"I think we probably need to look at the way the AEC ... conduct themselves when it comes to remote polling at elections, at referendums."

"I think we should take away those who come in with their how-to-votes, unions that come in and overpower vulnerable Aboriginal communities."

An AEC spokesperson said the commission was "pleased to have delivered the largest remote voting offering ever".

The spokesperson said there had been a 25 per cent increase in voting in remote communities "off the back of record rate of enrolment".

"The ability to campaign at any polling place, including in remote communities, was of course the same for everyone," the spokesperson added.

Prominent "no" campaigner Warren Mundine said the "yes" campaign failed because it did not "reach out to the other side".

"People haven't learned from history about referendums," he told the ABC. "Referendums have to have bipartisan support. You have to reach out to the other side."

Mr Mundine said the "yes" case had also erred by not providing detail about the Voice.

"A lot of Australians who I do know who wanted to vote 'yes' but voted 'no' because of those two things," he said.

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While the government would not seek further constitutional change, Mr Marles said the referendum result was not a vote against reconciliation or closing the gap in social disadvantage.

"I think coming out of this referendum, there is a greater call for action on closing the gap," the deputy prime minister said.

"I think Australians yesterday, whether they voted 'yes' or 'no', would see that situation where a group of our fellow citizens, by virtue of their birth are living shorter and less healthy lives, is fundamentally unfair and we need to act to change that," he said.

"From the government's point of view, that is now our focus."

Liberal MP Julian Leeser, who quit the Coalition frontbench to campaign for the "yes" vote, said "overconfidence" among Voice to Parliament advocates was partly to blame for the referendum outcome.

Mr Leeser said initial strong polling for "yes" and the government's own electoral success had led to "overconfidence [which] affected all of the decisions that were made in relation to the process".

He was also critical of the decision not to pursue the establishment of local and regional voice bodies first.

But the Liberal MP also attacked "no" advocate claims that voice would divide the country on race.

"I disagreed with it ... because we've had the race power [in the constitution] since 1901. The only people we've ever made laws about on the basis of their race is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people," he said.

He said people had said "bad things on both sides of the debate".

Independent senator Lidia Thorpe, who campaigned for a "no" vote, said the defeat of the the "yes" case was a win for the black sovereignty movement.

"This result marks an end to the era of powerless advisory bodies," Senator Thorpe said.

The senator said the referendum had been a costly and disastrous political exercise that "has caused nothing but harm to First Peoples".

"The outcome presents us with a blank canvas, a chance to reset the power dynamics, take a seat at a new table together and talk about sovereignty, land rights and self-determination," she said.