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How Should The Australian Constitution Be Changed

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Today Australia prides itself on being a place of fairness and equity for all its citizens. But the Australian Constitution still does not recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians as the first people of this land. Importantly, we now know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their cultures form part of the longest culture on Earth and evidence of their presence in Australia is now dated back over 60,000 years. It is only right that modern Australia should recognise and acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and culture - past and present - in our Constitution to record their valued place as part of this country and our national identity. Most of the states - Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia have already amended their Constitutions to formally recognise Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Australians as the first people and nations of their jurisdictions. …show more content…

5. Why should the body of the Constitution be changed? When it came into effect in 1901 the Australian Constitution contained several specific references that allowed governments to discriminate against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. The most glaring discrimination occurred in: Section 51 of the Constitution that provided: “The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to:- ...(xxvi) The people of any race, other than the aboriginal people in any State, for whom it is necessary to make special laws. And Section 127 stated: 'In reckoning the numbers of the people of the Commonwealth, or of a State or other part of the

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Formed in 1957, the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders commenced their campaign with a series of petitions displayed in Source 4 that called for a referendum. This had the effect of not only mobilising support for a change to the constitution but also of informing the public of the issues facing Aborigines. Over the course of the campaign, more than 100,000 signatures were collected and presented to the Parliament in 94 separate petitions (NMA, n.d.). This was a key factor in changing politicians’ minds and the government’s stance (Koori Mail, 2007). A key factor of the support of the referendum by non-indigenous Australians was the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders ‘Yes’ campaign.

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Here, the Aboriginal Protection Act 1869 (VIC) was made to establish an inclusive scheme of control over the lives of First Australians (Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, 2014). New South Wales’ equivalent to this was the Aborigines Protection Act 1909 (NSW) which was to provide protection and care of Aboriginal People but rather legislated for the control of their lives. The policies of assimilation directly related to and relied on segregation and protectionism policies. This policy reflected the views of all governmental bodies of Australia, in that they thought it necessary that Aboriginal people were to eventually exercise the equivalent method of living as non-Indigenous Australians and to live as members of a sole community appreciating the same rights and freedoms, accept the same responsibilities, observing similar duties and be predisposed to the same loyalties, hopes and

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The Australian constitution are written sets of rules that the country is controlled by. The Commonwealth of Australia was established on the first of January in 1901. It is a document which creates how the system of the parliament works and who has the right to make laws. The federal and state Parliaments have the power to construct laws that allow Australian citizens with their freedom of speech. The constitution is a necessary part of the nation as it represents the progress of the colonies turning into states.

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An Australian Republic is about us — not the Queen, not Prince Charles or the world economy. We should do it now, without delay. As Nelson Mandela once said, “ For to be free is not merely to cast off one 's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” Until we break our last Constitutional links to the mother country, our nationhood is incomplete. Now after just over 115 years of Federation, Australia must finally join the world of nations as a full equal, unshackled to any other nation.

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Australia Day is one of the most unique national day’s in the world throughout history, celebrating the day of when our ancestors first arrived on the borders of Australia, in 1788. Rather than unite people as one whole though, the spirited outcome of this event isn’t what as anticipated by everyone and has divided the Australian society for good. And so it should be held at an alternative date, where Australian citizens feel worthy of their identity and not cheated by it. However, the celebration shouldn’t be adapted to like that of other commemorations like ANZAC day. Essentially, this day will always be a tragic memory for the indigenous and be viewed as the invasion of their homeland.

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