Former Northern Territory attorney general Chansey Paech says many Indigenous Territorians felt disenfranchised going into the recent NT election.
Speaking on the first anniversary of the voice referendum defeat, the Eastern Arrernte and Gurindji man said Aboriginal Territorians in remote communities overwhelmingly voted yes, while more than 60 per cent of the NT overall rejected the proposal.
"I certainly want to take time to acknowledge the result," the now shadow attorney general told NT News.
"We heard loudly and clearly here in the Northern Territory…that Aboriginal people in remote communities voted for change, with Aboriginal Territorians in remote locations overwhelmingly voting in favour of a different way of doing things."
On Tuesday, Mr Paech was sworn in as one of 25 MLAs in the NT parliament, with the new CLP government holding a significant majority.
He said the NT's 15th Legislative Assembly would be a chance to "work together" and look at how to empower Aboriginal people in the NT to "make sure they are involved in decision making here in the Territory".
The election defeat in August saw Labor hold only four seats. However, all the MP's who retained their seats - New Labor leader Selena Uibo, Mr Paech, Dheran Young, and Manuel Brown - are Indigenous.
Mr Paech, the former Labor deputy leader under Chief Minister Eva Lawler, held his seat of Gwoja, bucking the trend with a swing towards him.
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Taking to social media to commemorate one year since the defeat, Mr Paech said: "A year on our message remains! We are strong, we are deadly, hear our voice! Our fires burn bright, the journey is not finished."
On Monday, he said the referendum result likely played a part in the election outcome.
He argued some Indigenous people in the NT may have felt disenfranchised at a system that 12 months ago rejected their support for change.
"I think a large number of Territorians felt disenfranchised at the most the recent Territory election, particularly in remote locations where they had really come out and supported the voice to only have that denied," Mr Paech said.
He also offered his support for the former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), which was shut down by the Howard government in 2005.
Whilst accepting it "did have some issues," he said people in his electorate spoke of the positive aspects, which he argued, "provided a platform for many Aboriginal people to be involved at a grassroots level".
"When you actually look across the bush, particularly in a large number of homelands and remote communities, a lot of infrastructure that you see there is [the] result of ATSIC," he told NT News.
"I think establishing something similar to ATSIC, whether it's a regional assembly, or something of that nature, where people can be more involved and more hands on in having a greater say around where the money goes and what the priorities are will be really important to overcoming Aboriginal disadvantage here in the Territory."
