Despite the claims of a single-page document behind the referendum, the final report from the Referendum Council paints a bleak picture for Australia's future.
"The consensus view of the Referendum Council is that these recommendations for constitutional and extra-constitutional recognition are modest, reasonable, unifying and capable of attracting the necessary support of the Australian people."
Our First Nations peoples should have powers to make certain laws pertaining to them alone, like the Maori and the people of the Canadian First Nations. (Individual)
Treaties … are accepted around the world as the means of reaching a settlement between indigenous peoples and those who have settled their lands. Treaties can be found in countries such as the US, Canada and New Zealand… Australia is the exception. We are now the only Commonwealth nation that does not have a treaty with its indigenous peoples.
One of the reasons for seeking a body enshrined in the constitution is so that it cannot be removed, as ATSIC was, without being replaced by another body. It is important to reflect on the fact that in terms of electing representatives to an indigenous body Indigenous Australians have not in the past shown great enthusiasm. An incredibly low proportion of indigenous Australians voted in ATSIC elections. If voting were compulsory it would raise the question of whether there should be elections simultaneous with Federal elections and if so terms of office.
Australians would, in my view, need to be assured that any such body, whilst intended to be a step towards coming together would not in fact be an inbuilt dissonance within our system. The advice to parliament would be public and thus any disagreement would feed into the public debate.
Advice opposing a proposal before parliament would in effect be perilously close to a veto. It would be important that such a body did not become another combatant in a frankly all too combative political arena.
