Reconciliation South Australia Inc
"a united Australia which respects this land of ours; values the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage; and provides justice and equity for all"
Be the change; I am the change.
National Reconciliation Week: 27 May to 3 June
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Bipartisan Commitment to Constitutional Change |
Perhaps one of the most encouraging outcomes of the 2010 election campaign has been a bipartisan commitment to amend Australia’s constitution to formally recognise the First Australians.
In the lead up to the election, the Australian Labor Party, which has since formed a minority government, committed itself to proposing a referendum on the issue in this term of government.
The commitment was made on behalf of the Labor Party by Indigenous Affairs Minister, Jenny Macklin, on the 8th of August as she attended the Garma festival in Arnhem Land and held talks with Aboriginal leaders including Galarrwuy Yunupingu and Marcia Langton.
On the 10th of August, Tony Abbott confirmed that the coalition would support the proposal for such a referendum, commenting; “It is very important that we should appropriately acknowledge the place of Indigenous people at the heart of modern Australia.”
As part of its commitment, the Labor Party has promised to establish an expert panel tasked with building public support for the idea of constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the first inhabitants of Australia, a move aimed at ensuring that any such referendum has the greatest chance of success
"We all do need to recognise how few referenda have been successful in Australia; just eight of 44 since federation. If a referendum on the recognition of indigenous peoples in the Constitution is to be successful, it will need to gather community support," Jenny Macklin commented.
On a similar note, Tony Abbott commented “...we’ve had a lot of symbolism over the past couple of years. We’ve now got to get on with making a difference... The last thing we would want would be to put a proposal of this nature to the people and have it fail.”
This bipartisan commitment has been supported by calls from independent groups including the Law Council of Australia (LCA) which has added that any such referendum should follow extensive consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The LCA also urged both major parties to ensure that Australia’s laws comply with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and our obligations under the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racism. In the lead up to the election, LCA President, Glenn Ferguson commented; “Australia’s support for the UN Declaration must be underpinned by real action to ensure our laws don’t impinge on the rights of Indigenous Australians.... All parties should commit to developing a framework for treaties and other lasting settlements with Indigenous communities.”