Constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is not off the table, and can't be, if Indigenous Australians still want it, Uluru Dialogue co-chair Professor Megan Davis has stated two years on from the Voice referendum.

On October 14, 2023 Australians were asked whether or not 'To alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice' in the country's first referendum for over two decades.

60 per cent of voters sided against the proposal, voting 'No'. 39.94 per cent, or 6,286,894 people, voted 'Yes'.

Amongst them was "an overwhelming majority of First Nations people", Professor Davis told a webinar on the two year anniversary of the result.

The outcome, despite a 'deafening silence' on the proposal in the time since, isn't the end of the road, she said on Tuesday.

Previously deputy chief executive of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), Geoff Scott told the webinar the federal government has "moved on" from the commitments of pursuing the Voice made on their election in 2022, and "no real progress" is made on key identifiers of more positive outcomes for Indigenous people.

"Close the Gap goes through a ritual every year of identifying that nothing's changed and we've failed, but continues to be the major way we actually interact with government."

Mr Scott, now chief executive of Just Reinvest NSW - an organisation aiming to reduce Aboriginal people's interactions with the criminal justice system, has previously also served as chief executive officer of land councils, the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples and Director-General of the NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs.

In a statement on Tuesday morning, Professor Davis and Aunty Pat Anderson, as Uluru Dialogue co-chairs, said "The status quo remains. We know that", but added "the Voice Referendum may have been lost, but political loss is a normal feature of the political process".

"The future is ours to shape. We will not walk away," they said.

On constitutional recognition, Professor David told Tuesday's webinar, ongoing want for it means opportunity to see it realised.

"You can't say it's off the table. Because it's not, because that is what our people want," she said.

"And when you say that, the belief shrinks the horizon of political possibility. And that's what's important. Because people never believed (the Uluru Statement from the Heart) could happen, and people never believed the referendum would happen.

"That's part of how structural injustice persists. By making people stop imagining that the world can be better…or making people stop imaging alternative futures.

"So our work is reopening that horizon, not giving into the demoralisation or defeat, or people saying 'Look, can't do it again. That's done'".

In 2017 more than 250 delegates from across the country formalised calls for 'substantive constitutional change' and directly for 'the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution' and Makarrata Commission.

Professor Davis said the Statement itself was "an act of imagination" and "rupture in the persistence of political quietism".

"It was never seen as politically possible. It was born out of years of deliberation, law reform, thinking, community engagement, talking to communities, not out of the political calculus of the moment," she said.

Professor Davis later added the work of the Uluru Dialogue and allies "reopening the imagination".

The Uluru Youth Dialogue, a cohort of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices under the Statement from the Heart 'representative authority', have been ongoing in their work across the last two years.

In July, a five person delegation attended the 18th Session of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) in Geneva.

"A referendum shouldn't be a once in a lifetime thing. It needs to be a consistent thing, and the Constitution is meant to change," Youth Dialogue co-chair Allira Davis told National Indigenous Times following the delegations presentations and attendance at the session.

"Going on that journey is what we need to do, and we'll continue to do that."

This week, Youth Dialogue ambassador Brydie Zorz told National Indigenous Times "unfinished business" remains, while reasons for why Voice, Treaty and Truth were called for persist.

On Tuesday, former Deputy Chief Minister and Attorney General of the Northern Territory and current member for Gwoja, Chansey Paech, released his own statement on the two year anniversary of the referendum.

He said "there is still much more to do", including work to ensure Indigenous Australians are leading efforts towards solutions and reform.

"The Uluru Statement is far from complete, its remaining pillars of Truth-telling and Makarata (Treaty) remain essential to healing our nation and building a shared understanding of our history," Mr Paech said.

"The journey toward Voice, Treaty, and Truth continues. Let this anniversary remind us of our collective responsibility to keep walking together with courage, respect, and hope to build a more just and united Australia."

University of Queensland Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement) Professor Bronwyn Fredericks has three decades of experience in federal and state government - including Commissioner roles, with Indigenous community-controlled organisations and the tertiary sector.

Professor Fredericks said from early bipartisan support on the Voice proposal, shortly after "we saw the backflips happening", and was critical of what she labelled disinformation and misinformation spread.

"I see that people have simply moved on, or the government's moved on," she said.

Of the early support from big business and household organisations for the 'Yes' case seen in the lead up to the referendum, Professor Frederick said, "I don't see that same effort and energy being put into what is going to change things for Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander people going forward".

"Just because the response was 'No' in terms of the vote, It doesn't mean the question to have a Voice was not a relevant one, a valid one, an important one, and doesn't mean that the question will go away," she said.

Uluru Dialogue co-chair Aunty Pat Anderson described the current social and political landscape as "fractured" and "difficult" to move through to address existing disadvantages of Indigenous Australians.

Despite that, "it's all fixable," she said.

"Let's get on with the real work of this country. We have to mature and get out of this quagmire that we've been in forever. We are here, and we've been here for over 65,000 years, and we aren't going anywhere," Aunty Pat told the webinar.

"We have another opportunity. It hasn't gone away, as we've all said, why should it?"