In January 2012 the Prime Minister's expert panel on the recognition
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
in the constitution handed its final report
to the Prime Minister.
This expert panel had been established in 2011.
The panel was established
because of the hung parliament in 2010 and the Greens and
the Independent Rob Oakeshott held Julia Gillard to an agreement
that she would finally move on the three decades
of advocacy by both the State and by indigenous peoples
for more recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
in the Australian Constitution.
The expert panel was constituted by quite a broad group of people
from across the Australian political and social spectrums.
It included Indigenous leaders
as well as non-Indigenous leaders.
It included politicians, so representatives from the Liberal Party,
the Labour Party, the Greens and the Independents
and had representatives from organisations such as
the Business Council of Australia and the Law Council of Australia
and Indigenous leaders such as Pat Dodson, Marcia Langton
and Noel Pearson and I was also a member of the panel.
The task of the expert panel was to address this notion
of recognition in the Australian Constitution
and in doing that, the panel decided that
there were essentially two elements we needed to look at.
The first was to address
the outdated notion of race in the Australian Constitution
and the second one was to insert some recognition of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their culture, their heritage
and their languages.
So the five recommendations
that the panel made were, first; that Section 25 be repealed.
Section 25 essentially recognises that the States can ban a people
of any race from voting.
The second recommendation
was for the repeal of Section 51/26.
This provision in the Constitution
permits the Federal Parliament to discriminate against
a people of any race.
The last three recommendations
were for the insertion of new provisions in the Constitution.
So the first is for
the insertion of a new Head of Power for the Commonwealth
to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
but the importance of this section, Section 51A,
is that it provides recognition, so recognition of the continuing cultures
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The fourth recommendation
is for a non-discrimination clause.
So this is a racial equality commitment
in the constitution and what it does is prevents the Federal Parliament
from passing discriminatory laws.
And the final recommendation
is a declaratory recommendation which essentially recognises that Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander languages are an important part
of the Australian nation.
The Australian Constitution that was enacted in 1901,
expressly excluded Aboriginal people from the powers of
the Federal Parliament.
So one of the significant aspects
of the 1967 referendum was that it gave the Federal Parliament
powers to make laws for Aboriginal people.
Part of the reason
that Aboriginal people were expressly excluded
from the powers of the Federal Parliament in 1901 was that they were thought
to be a dying race.
So what do these changes
to the Australian Constitution mean for Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people and the Australian people?
Well really what it does is address the historical legacy
of racial discrimination in Australia and contemporary racial discrimination.
So what it is, is a joint commitment
by all Australians to racial equality and to that extent,
I think it will contribute to reconciliation in Australia.