Country, Culture, People, Future

Recognise

Deadline for Constitution Recognition Submissions Extended

Posted: October 29th, 2014

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The Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples has extended its deadline on receiving public submissions. The closing date for public submissions is now 31 January 2015.

The Committee has been established to inquire into steps that can be taken to progress towards a successful referendum on the recognition of Indigenous peoples in the Australian constitution. Written submissions are prefered and can be made online at their website. Submissions can also be sent by email (jscatsi@aph.gov.au), or post:

Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600

In July of this year the committee tabled an interim report in the Parliament, and it has since been holding public hearings around Australia. To access the report click here.

What is this all about?

There are a few aspects to this area: it is not just about adding positive recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to the Australian constitution, but also about removing very outdated and negative things that are still in that document. Unfortunately, the famous 1967 referendum that allowed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to be counted in the national census, did not fix other big problems in the Australian constitution.

Section 25 of the Australian constitution allows States to disqualify people from voting, on the basis of the race of those people. The majority of people now agree that this section is discriminatory and that it should be deleted.

The 1967 referendum changed the constitution to allow the Federal Parliament, rather than the States, to make laws relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. But today, most people agree that power sometimes has been misused to allow the making of laws that harm particular races, including Indigenous Australians, more than other Australians. There are a lot of different views about how this problem might be fixed though, and YMAC is open to hearing from you about it. If you have time to read the interim report mentioned above, don’t be shy about letting YMAC’s new policy officer, Cameron Poustie, know how you think we should respond: he’s at cpoustie@ymac.org.au or on 08 9268 7000.

Finally, there’s the question of whether Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be recognised with an introductory paragraph somewhere in the Australian constitution. There seems to be strong support in the Australian community for this type of change as well, but at the moment there are different views as to how it might be done. It should be remembered that a proposed ‘preamble’ was voted down in a national referendum in 1999, so the consultation process before the voting needs to be a lot better this time. Again, if you have an opinion, please get in touch with Cameron Poustie as above.

Recognition in Western Australia’s constitution too

Posted: October 21st, 2014

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Apart from the much better known conversation about recognition of Aboriginal peoples in the Federal constitution (see our previous blog post), YMAC is pleased to see that the State opposition has also recently begun to push for similar recognition in the Western Australian constitution as well.

And it has only just come to our attention that they are seeking comments on their suggested changes by this Friday, 24 October!

On Wednesday 11 June 2014, Labor member for the State seat of Kimberley, Josie Farrer MLA, first spoke in Parliament about the Constitution Amendment (Recognition of Aboriginal People) Bill 2014 she introduced. It was an amazing speech, click here.

Ms Farrer, a Gidja woman from east Kimberley, has introduced a Bill that is quite simple, because the WA constitution in many ways needs less fixing than the Federal one. There are important symbolic things that need to be changed. Find out more about the Bill and the reasons for the suggested changes Opposition Leader, Mark McGowan’s website, or call YMAC policy officer Cameron Poustie on 08 9268 7000.

WA really needs to get moving on this – every other mainland Australian state has changed its state constitution to recognises Aboriginal peoples. Please consider writing to Ms Farrer, even with just a short message of support, by email to her staff person at Ms Mala Croft at mala.croft@mp.wa.gov.au .

Australian constitutional recognition: a chance to have your say, and why it matters

Posted: October 21st, 2014

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Get your voice heard

The Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples has been established to inquire into steps that can be taken to progress towards a successful referendum on the recognition of Indigenous peoples in the Australian constitution.

The committee is currently receiving public submissions, and they are due by THURSDAY 30 October 2014. The committee prefers that written submissions are made online at their website. Submissions can also be sent by email (jscatsi@aph.gov.au), or post:

Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600

In July of this year the committee tabled an interim report in the Parliament, and it has since been holding public hearings around Australia. To access the report click here.

What is this all about?

There are a few aspects to this area: it is not just about adding positive recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to the Australian constitution, but also about removing very outdated and negative things that are still in that document. Unfortunately, the famous 1967 referendum that allowed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to be counted in the national census, did not fix other big problems in the Australian constitution.

Section 25 of the Australian constitution allows States to disqualify people from voting, on the basis of the race of those people. The majority of people now agree that this section is discriminatory and that it should be deleted.

The 1967 referendum changed the constitution to allow the Federal Parliament, rather than the States, to make laws relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. But today, most people agree that power sometimes has been misused to allow the making of laws that harm particular races, including Indigenous Australians, more than other Australians. There are a lot of different views about how this problem might be fixed though, and YMAC is open to hearing from you about it. If you have time to read the interim report mentioned above, don’t be shy about letting YMAC’s new policy officer, Cameron Poustie, know how you think we should respond: he’s at cpoustie@ymac.org.au or on 08 9268 7000.

Finally, there’s the question of whether Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be recognised with an introductory paragraph somewhere in the Australian constitution. There seems to be strong support in the Australian community for this type of change as well, but at the moment there are different views as to how it might be done. It should be remembered that a proposed ‘preamble’ was voted down in a national referendum in 1999, so the consultation process before the voting needs to be a lot better this time. Again, if you have an opinion, please get in touch with Cameron Poustie as above.

Spread the Word about constitutional recognition

Posted: August 12th, 2013

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ANTaR Spread the WordSpread the Word” is a campaign run by ANTaR (Australia for Native Title and Reconciliation) to raise awareness about the constitutional recognition of Australia’s First Peoples.

ANTaR believes that constitutional recognition and Close the Gap are linked because we won’t be able to close the gaps in education and health unless we also close the gaps in respect and understanding. They believe that constitutional recognition can have a positive effect on the well being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Click here to find out more about the Spread the Word campaign, or about constitutional recognition.

If you would like to join or start an activist group on constitutional recognition, you can send your request to campaigns@antar.org.au.

Country is our mother, the provider and keeper of cultural belongings. Country and Culture go together. You can’t have one without the other.

Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners and custodians throughout Western Australia, and on whose Country we work. We acknowledge and respect their deep connection to their lands and waterways.

We honour and pay respect to Elders, and to their ancestors who survived and cared for Country.

Our offices are located on Whadjuk Country, Southern Yamatji Country, Yinggarda Country, Kariyarra Country, and Yawuru Country. We recognise the continuing culture, traditions, stories and living cultures on these lands and commit to building a brighter future together.

Disclaimer: Caution: Please be advised that this website may contain images, voices and names of deceased people.

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