Australia’s parliament has unanimously voted in favour of an Act of Recognition, which commits Australia to amending our Constitution to properly acknowledge Indigenous Australians.
The Bill has been passed through the lower house on the the five year anniversary of former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s apology to the Stolen Generation.
This means that at the next election, we will all have the chance to cast our vote in a Referendum to incorporate the changes in thi Act of Recognition, into our Constitution.
This is a historic moment for Australia and a huge step forwards for reconciliation and the appropriate recognition of the culture, customs and history of Indigenous Australians.
By JULIA GILLARD
Speaker, this Parliament is the gathering place of our nation’s representatives.
But we stand on land that was, from time immemorial, the gathering place of the Ngunnawal people.
So I speak here today, as I always do, in a spirit of friendship and respect for the First Australians, and with honour to Elders past and present.
I’m also conscious that on this special anniversary, we acknowledge the courage that enabled Kevin Rudd to offer the Apology and the generosity of spirit that enabled Indigenous Australians to accept it.
Top Comments
Oh dear more positive racism. To treat people differently because of the colour of their skin is terrible but it's made to feel all nicey nicey and you can be sure whilst the government is upto this sort of thing their upto no good behind the scenes. Everybody deserves to be treated the same to promote otherwise only causes contempt.
The Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people DO NOT want to be recognised in the constitution. They believe that this constitutional change will take away their sovereignty, and therefore give the government power to abolish things which are associated that sovereignty, such as Native Title.
I don't fully understand the implications of this change, but the FB group "vote no to constitutional change" has been an interesting read for me. I am weary. I think there is a reason why Indigenous people are against it. They don't want to be assimilated, they want to retain their own identity.
I'd like to read another piece on this issue that looks at both perspectives because this one is very one sided for me.
I would also like to read more pieces that voices a number a views looking from all sides.
Not all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are agansist being recongnised in the constitution. Some are and it would be good to hear thier perceptive on the matter. Some aren't and it would be good to hear thier percepcetive. Just like any community there a number of different voices and percepcetives.
It would also be good to hear about the differences between acknowledgement of this part of history in our consitiution and what it's apperenetly going to take away from land rights and how that would effect a treaty/sovereignty.
It's my understanding that they are two diffenernt documents and with a treaty/sovereignty there is a whole lot of international law the govenernment would need to abide by but without the general population even acknowledging the wrongs of our past, that the land was taken and that there is a different percpetive on our history we can't even explore that option. My understanding is that the passing of the 'act of regonition' is smiply about putting some rescoures so as a country we can have a discussion. But I could be wrong about that.It's a complex issue and a conversation that everyone needs to be invloved in.
MM - could you keep posting about this and have people from all sides (particularly Aborginial and Torres Strait Islanders) providing thier points of view?