Australians have had their say on the Voice to Parliament and they answered with a resounding no.

While we are still mulling over the result and what it means for future elections, one thing needs to be made clear. That is that Australians said no to a specific form of words and a specific legal change.

They have not said no to reconciliation.

Reconciliation needs to be top of mind for Liberals. It’s about rebuilding trust between Indigenous Australians and all other Australians, and giving Indigenous Australians a greater sense of having a fuller stake in our common democratic project.

Liberals need to think seriously about how reconciliation can be advanced in this post-referendum political landscape. Because contrary to what many in the Left say, the Voice was not the only path to reconciliation.

The Liberal Party cannot content itself with its ‘no’ position, the referendum failing, and then moving on as if nothing has happened.

Liberals need to offer a long-term positive vision for closing the gap. The elevation of local voices needs to be central.

We need to recognise that there were values, rooted in liberalism, underlying the Voice. This is why many Liberals, such as Julian Leeser and Matt Kean, supported it.

These values are bigger than any one advisory body and should sustain a Liberal vision for reconciliation that transcends any single referendum.

They are the Liberal values of empowering local communities and individuals to make decisions for themselves.

The Liberal instinct to put in place guardrails on centralised power.

The Liberal tenet that those who wield power in Canberra should be held accountable for how they use that power.

Historian and former Liberal Minister David Kemp, puts the 'liberal ideal' as : "The idea that each individual human being is equally valuable and worthy of respect regardless of their beliefs, religion, social class, gender, nationality, race or ethnic group - and that society can and should be organised and governed to recognise this."

Liberals should remain open-minded to change if it can advance us closer to this ideal.

So while many Liberals were rightly very cautious when weighing up constitutional change, our Liberal values should also lead us to join in the cause of reconciliation for the long-haul.

Chanum Torres is the president of the NSW Young Liberals