Songlines

The expert panel on the Constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples is due to report to the Australian Government in January 2012.

“You Me Unity is the national conversation about updating our constitution to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and culture for the benefit of all Australians.”

“Warramangu” version

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ral9uRfUYTk&annotation_id=annotation_531561&feature=iv

Other indigenous Australian language versions at
http://www.youmeunity.org.au/

Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians
4 May 2011

The Expert Panel on the Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians today agreed to an extensive schedule of consultations which includes meetings and discussions across urban, regional and remote Australia.

Members of the Panel, appointed by the Prime Minister, have already conducted preliminary discussions in Darwin and Sydney as part of their responsibility to gather and document the views of the Australian people on the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution.

Over the next six months public consultations and meetings will be held in all states and territories to engage directly with Australians. As well, the Panel will be receiving submissions in writing, through emails or via an interactive website.

The Panel, which met in Sydney on Wednesday, is made up of Indigenous and non-Indigenous leaders from urban, regional and remote areas and includes community and business leaders, academics and members of parliament from across the political spectrum.

A discussion paper and accompanying DVD will be released soon, as the starting point for consultations.

After conducting the national consultations, the Panel will report to the Australian Government in December this year on possible options for the constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and changes that are most likely to have strong community support.

See who these experts are:
http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/sa/indigenous/progserv/engagement/Pages/membership_expert_panel.aspx

For more information on Indigenous Constitutional Recognition visit http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/sa/indigenous/progserv/engagement/Pages/constitutional_recognition.aspx

The Hon Jenny Macklin MP Joint Media Release with:

The Hon Julia Gillard MP, Prime Minister and Hon Robert Mcclelland MP, Attorney-General

Date:
8/11/2010

The Gillard Government today announced the first step towards recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution.

The Australian Constitution is the foundation document of our system of government, but it fails to recognise the special place of our first Australians.

Constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians is an important step towards building a nation based on strong relationships and mutual respect.

Recognition will demonstrate that we are a country that is united in acknowledging the unique and special place of our first peoples.

The national apology to Indigenous Australians, in particular the Stolen Generations, helped build a bridge of respect between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. It helped generate the trust and respect needed for closing the gap.

The recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution is the next step on that journey.

The Government is pursuing an ambitious agenda to close the gap in Indigenous disadvantage, including undertaking major reform and delivering unprecedented investment in early education, health, jobs, housing and services, and infrastructure.

Formal recognition in our foundation document will build on this work by publicly acknowledging our history and the significant contribution that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples continue to make to this nation.

This important reform commences today as the Government moves to establish an expert panel to progress the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution.

This is an important issue for all Indigenous Australians, and we want Indigenous people to be involved in the process and in building broader community support.

Without the support of the majority of Australians, this reform will not succeed.

The expert panel will include Indigenous and community leaders, constitutional experts, and parliamentary members. It will lead a national discussion and broad consultation during 2011 to build consensus on the recognition of Indigenous people in the Constitution.

It will work closely with organisations with expertise and a history of engagement on this issue, including the Australian Human Rights Commission, the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples and Reconciliation Australia.

The panel will consider how best to progress constitutional recognition of Indigenous people, and provide possible options on the nature of the amendment which could be put to the Australian people at a referendum.

The Gillard Government is committed to strengthening the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians by holding a national referendum on this issue during the current term of government or at the next Federal election.

We do not under-estimate the challenge of achieving nation-wide consensus.

There are diverse community views and only eight of 44 referendums since Federation have been successful. To succeed, the referendum must attract the support of a majority vote nationally, and a majority of votes in a majority of states.

Achieving nation-wide consensus to achieve constitutional change will be a challenge given the history of referenda in Australia. To achieve this historic reform we must make sure we build the most robust and persuasive case for change.

The panel will therefore be asked to develop options for constitutional change which will attract broad support from the Australian community.

Parliamentarians from across the political spectrum have expressed support for recognising Indigenous Australians in the Constitution.

The Prime Minister has written to the Leader of the Opposition, the Leader of the Australian Greens, and Independent Members and Senators, inviting them to nominate a Parliamentary representative on the expert panel and suggest other panel members.

The expert panel will report to the Government by December next year. Fact sheets with further information on Indigenous constitutional recognition are available at: www.fahcsia.gov.au

People are encouraged to make nominations for representatives for the expert panel by emailing: constitutional.recognition@fahcsia.gov.au. Nominations are open until 18 November.

Australian Human Rights Commission
e-Update
8 November 2010

The Australian Human Rights Commission has welcomed the announcement today by Prime Minister Julia Gillard that the Australian Government will establish an expert panel to work towards including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in the Constitution.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda, said formally recognising the special and unique place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia’s Constitution was central to developing stronger and deeper relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the rest of Australia.

“The Prime Minister’s announcement today is great news and a positive sign that we can really move towards a truly reconciled Australia,” Commissioner Gooda said.

“I firmly believe the time is right and that the Australian commitment to reconciliation is strong enough for us to be able to build the momentum, the understanding and the support that is so necessary for us to bring about this Constitutional recognition.”

Commissioner Gooda said the extent of the reform needed to be worked out in consultation and partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the broader Australian community.

“The call for nominations for the expert panel is a sensible approach and I believe will ensure we get the broad cross section of views we need to reach a consensus on Constitutional recognition for Australia’s First Peoples,” Commissioner Gooda said.

“Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our constitution will not only mark the beginning of a new relationship, it will also be a point at which we can say we have made great progress towards a relationship built on mutual respect.

“Constitutional recognition will address a history of exclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the life of the nation and put the final piece of the Australian jigsaw puzzle in place to complete our national identity,” he said.

“This announcement today has the potential to be history-making and is the first step in Constitutional reform which will provide us with a solid foundation for future discussions about how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people participate in the life of the Australian nation.”

Commissioner Gooda said Constitutional recognition was not only about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but about the nation as a whole.

“Constitutional recognition can only improve the trust and respect between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia and for that reason alone it has the potential to make a real difference to peoples’ lives,” he said.

The Australian Greens & The Australian Labor Party (‘The Parties’) – Agreement Between:

The Hon Julia Gillard MP Prime Minister, MP Lalor, Leader of the Australian Labor Party
The Hon Wayne Swan MP
Deputy Prime Minister, MP Lilley, Deputy Leader of the Australian
Labor Party

And

Senator Bob Brown
Senator Christine Milne
Senator for Tasmania, Leader of the Australian Greens
Senator for Tasmania, Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens
Adam Bandt MP ‐elect MP Melbourne, Australian Greens representative in the House

…

3. Goals

f) Hold referenda during the 43rd Parliament or at the next election on Indigenous constitutional recognition and recognition of local government in the Constitution.

full text of agreement

http://greens.org.au/sites/greens.org.au/files/Final%20Agreement%20_ALP_GRNS.pdf

Media Release | Spokesperson Rachel Siewert
Wednesday 1st September 2010, 12:28pm

A referendum on the recognition of Australia’s first nations in the Australian Constitution will happen within the next three years or at the next federal election if the ALP forms Government – thanks to an agreement negotiated by the Australian Greens.

“I’m very excited that we have taken this significant step towards the proper recognition of Indigenous Australians in our constitution,” said Senator Rachel Siewert, Greens spokesperson on Aboriginal Issues today.

The Australian Greens reached the historic agreement with the ALP to help deliver stability for a possible ALP government in Canberra this morning.

“While we do not know yet that Julia Gillard will be able to form the next government, we now have a strong agreement that if she does a referendum will be held within the life of this Parliament or as part of the next federal election if she does,” Senator Siewert said.

Senator Siewert indicated that The Greens would be consulting widely with Indigenous organisations and constitutional experts on the nature of the constitutional recognition and doing all they could to ensure a meaningful and successful referendum.

The agreement also includes:

(more…)