Former prime minister Tony Abbott said that Australia has surpassed “peak woke,” during a speech at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference in Sydney.

The event, which brought together conservative politicians and thought leaders, also featured Coalition senator Jacinta Price, who described the historic referendum result on the Voice to Parliament as a vote “for love”.

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Both Abbott and Price pointed to the 60-40 defeat of the controversial Voice proposal as a sign that Australians are resistant to the idea of granting special rights to specific groups.

'We've passed peak woke' Tony Abbotthttps://t.co/e8yuxC4XiQ@HonTonyAbbott has said the country was “finally passing the point of ‘peak woke’”, urging Australians to unite “under one flag, not three” which has been forced upon us.#auspol24 #auspol #OneFlag pic.twitter.com/87xRTddGIt

— Timjbo 🇦🇺 (@Tim_jbo) October 22, 2024

Abbott highlighted the referendum's outcome as an example of the public holding their government accountable.

“That wasn’t the government protecting us from harm, but democracy protecting us from our government,” he said.

“My sense is that Australians are waking up to the travesty that’s been foisted upon us, and that we are finally passing peak woke.”

Price, who spearheaded the successful No campaign, stressed that the vote was not a rejection of Indigenous Australians, but rather a call for unity.

“It was a ‘yes’ to love and acceptance and being unified as a country,” she explained. Price also criticised what she described as “tokenistic” gestures, like 'Welcome to Country' ceremonies, which she believes have become excessive.

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