Indigenous leaders call for representative body and treaties process after Uluru convention

Updated

Indigenous leaders from across the country have outright rejected the idea of mere recognition in the constitution, instead calling for a representative body to be enshrined in the nation's founding document and a process established working towards treaties. Grounded in their inherent right to sovereignty, the statement calls for constitutional reform to empower Indigenous people to take “a rightful place in our own country”. The very big surprise is that the idea of recognition for its own sake has been blown out of the water and replaced by something potentially much more substantial, more ambitious and more fraught with danger: recognition in the form of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the constitution. It was during the prime ministership of Julia Gillard (following the Howard government's initial attempt to include recognition in a preamble during the 1999 republic referendum) that the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples was formed. Victoria and South Australia are negotiating treaties and Western Australia signed a compensation and land deal with Noongar people that many say is a treaty in all but name.
The National Constitutional Convention of Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders at Mutitjulu concludes with Indigenous leaders calling for a treaty and reforms to the Constitution of Australia, beyond the proposed written recognition, including entrenchment of representative bodies and commissions for Indigenous rights.