Only to be expected.<p>Very few referenda in Australia's history have received a 'Yes' result. The usual result has been overwhelmingly 'No'. The viewpoint is that it's better to have 'No Change' in the Constitution than 'Bad Change'.<p>The same result happened in the last referendum 25 years ago on whether Australia should be a Republic. Despite most Australians wanting a Republic per se, the kind of Republic actually envisioned in the referendum was rejected.
Other discussions:<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37879550">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37879550</a>
<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37878779">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37878779</a>