Indigenous elder sees tough times, hope in Australia

STORY: "It's been a long hard struggle and our Indigenous leaders are fighters," Walker told Reuters in an interview at his home in Sydney's south. He said he believed elders would continue the fight, adding, "We have to worry about our kid's future and that's what the fight is for."Having worked on the New South Wales parole board for over 20 years, the former Wallaby had hoped the change would help the disproportionate number of Indigenous people and youth who are incarcerated. However, he said he was heartened by the 40 percent of Australians who had voted "Yes", saying, "years and years ago we wouldn't have that percentage for sure."Still, Walker spoke of tough times ahead. "It's going to be difficult now with reconciliation. It's going to be difficult times. I'll be interested to see what our Indigenous senators have in mind," he said.More than 60% of Australians voted "No" in the landmark referendum on Saturday, which proposed to alter the constitution to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people through the creation of an Indigenous advisory body known as the "Voice to Parliament".First Nations people now make up 3.8% of the 26-million population and have inhabited Australia for about 60,000 years, but are not mentioned in the constitution and by most socio-economic measures are the most disadvantaged people in the country.