After two years of inaction on Indigenous recognition, the Morrison government now intends to move forward, with Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt announcing yesterday there would be a referendum on recognition this parliamentary term.
This is only the latest government to promise a referendum. Julia Gillard committed to one in 2010 but later abandoned the idea. In 2014 Tony Abbott — the man most likely to have delivered a successful referendum — suggested one be held in 2017, fifty years on from 1967, but we know what happened to him. 2017 instead became the year Malcolm Turnbull and a coterie of denialists within the Coalition derailed the process by rejecting out of hand the Uluru Statement from the Heart and its core proposal of an Indigenous voice to parliament.
A voice to parliament has strong support across the ideological spectrum (and is also opposed by some Indigenous people), with conservative lawyers and politicians having contributed to debate around the proposal and advocating for it after the Uluru Statement. It’s an unusual constitutional reform that is backed by conservative academics like Greg Craven, progressive lawyers like Julian Burnside, Liberal elders like Jeff Kennett and right-wing media figures like Chris Kenny. But it has been seized on by opponents of Indigenous recognition as an opportunity to wilfully misrepresent, or perhaps more accurately demonise, the recognition process. That includes the mining company-funded Institute of Public Affairs, which has consistently maintained a blanket opposition to any kind of Indigenous recognition.
There is thus a real possibility that a rump of denialists and racists within the Coalition could derail a reform proposal with widespread cross-party and cross-spectrum support — either by withholding support for a referendum at all, or campaigning to defeat the referendum if it proceeds. Sound familiar?
Wyatt was, understandably, cagey about the role a voice to parliament would play in the referendum, if it ever happens, and chose his words with care:
The concept of the ‘Voice’ in the Uluru Statement from the Heart is not a singular voice and what I perceive is that it is a cry to all tiers of Government to stop and listen to the voices of Indigenous Australians at all levels … They are asking the three tiers of Government to stop and take the time to listen to their voices. The development of a local, regional and national voice will be achieved. It is my intention to work with the State and Territory Ministers to develop an approach — underpinned with existing jurisdictional Indigenous organisations and advisory structures established to provide advice to State and Territory Governments. Indigenous Australian leaders are integral to the process and will be equally involved.”
The focus on voices, and across all three levels of government, instead of a single voice to the Commonwealth parliament is an attempt to avoid the focus on what some have been demonising as a “third chamber of parliament”. But Wyatt also noted it is “likely there will be a legislative structure as we work through the co-design process”. That could mean anything, though under Bill Shorten, Labor had suggested establishing an Indigenous advisory body to work as a trial run before a referendum to establish a proper voice mechanism in the constitution.
Wyatt’s deliberate vagueness didn’t stop the same line-up of denialists within the Coalition from denouncing him. Far right LNP senator Amanda Stoker immediately used the “third chamber” line. Barnaby Joyce, whose misrepresentation of the Uluru Statement as deputy prime minister was particularly appalling, wants to hijack the idea and turn it into an expanded number of rural MPs. Eric Abetz attacked “anything that would seek to incorporate identity politics in our formal structures” (Abetz also supports new religious freedom laws, so one man’s identity politics is another’s right to homophobia, it seems). And the IPA and its parliamentary progeny again peddled the spurious claim that Indigenous recognition in and of itself was innately racist.
Concerns about a “third chamber”, identity politics or any other line peddled by opponents are a cover for the real agenda of defeating Indigenous recognition altogether, or confining it to a meaningless, and insulting, constitutional footnote that Indigenous Australians will rightly reject.
But as the climate and energy debates have illustrated, even a small number of denialists within the Coalition can stymie action by threatening mayhem. Another lost decade on another crucial issue looms unless Wyatt, backed by his prime minister, can find a route around the denialists.
This process will either deliver Australia (and the world – because the world is watching) a stunning example of maturity, compassion and bravery as a nation tackles its sad, myth-ridden past, or a crushing realisation that under the thin veneer of ‘the most successful multicultural nation on earth’ there lies fear, hard-heartedness and a hankering for a rose-tinted past that hid greed, racism and genocide. There will be no half measures. There can be only one or the other of the outcomes I describe. Good luck, Australia. It’s really not that hard, I assure you, but I fear you’re going to make it that way.
You’re right, and my money is on option B.
Agree, and think sadly that already the extreme right is gathering its forces to destroy any hope of an Indigenous voice. Already on the Drum last night, I heard one panelist describe Noel Pearson as the Aboriginal leader. As if he has been chosen and elected as such by Aboriginal Australia. Pearson is the IPA’s approved leader. His ‘leadership’ was decided by the Murdoch press and the IPA. We will see a lot more of Jacinta Price too, not because she is a chosen leader, but because she is the person chosen by the Murdoch press and the IPA. I am so sad. I am gutted. Morrison will do to Aboriginal Australia what Abbott and others did to gay marriage.
Its NAIDOC week and Australians are showing their contempt for Aboriginal Australians and particularly the Anangu people at Mutijulu by choosing to climb Uluru in record numbers. So sad.
For all reasons set out above you would have to be pessimistic about success.
Maybe there are lessons in how other countries have achieved it.
Or how about starting with a non-binding postal ballot as a start. It worked for same sex marriage.
Ken Wyatt has the support of the salesman who made a divided, policy-free, useless government look electable and almost single-handedly won the unwinnable election. If Morrison can’t get the Libnats to support him nobody can.
Did others feel the shock I felt when Ken Wyatt told the story of Neville Bonner’s pillow? He had no friend in Parliament. I had no idea of that and couldn’t imagine how this was done to him in a place where friendships develop even between members of rival parties.
Yes Rais, the story of the pillow is a metaphor for the miserable mess Australia still wallows in. Morrison is using Ken Wyatt for his own ends. Just as he has used everyone and everything all his life. First Nations people have nothing to gain from the LNP but disappointment. They show what’s broken in the Australian psyche. Patrick Dodsen’s piece in the SMH today explains some of this.
Yes, Craig Kelly had a bit to say this morning. He is only there because Morrison reendorsed him after Turnbull had disendorsed him, so you have to wonder why Morrison has ken Wyatt there trying to do this.
Doesn’t add up, except that ken is being used for whatever reason, my imagination is not as good as morrison’s.
Ken Wyatt will do as he is told….by the NLP. He does not represent Aboriginal Australia any more than Noel Pearson or Jacinta Price.
The extreme right has been grooming its ‘stars’ so they can claim they have support of the Aboriginal community, but anyone who knows any thing, knows this is fraudulent and NLP posturing.
Sadly we already have the answer to the “Voice to Parliament.” The antediluvians are against it and Morrison has gone with them, demonstrating the true spirit of his Government. Maybe some form of recognition can get through since there is widespread community support for it and at some stage a Voice to Parliament can be legislated. The states should start that trend to prove that it works.
In the meantime we have nearly three years of this lot before there is a chance of some change. Don’t let us down Albo.
Ken Wyatt in the background of that photo with Abbott and Ditch the Witch signs so not hoping for any thing from this man.
Yes the story of Bonner’s pillow was very poignant and sad. I’d like to think it overstated things but I doubt it.
As someone wrote recently there’s a special brand of racism kept just for aborigines. But policy wise it goes from one thought bubble to pointless waste of money to abandoned grand symbol. What happened to the tried and true treaty? What happened to ATSIC and why couldn’t it have been rescued and reformed instead of cynically prodding its destruction and calling it self destruction ?
What is being proposed in this instance that will grab and inspire the collective imagination and support ? My best wishes to Mr Wyatt even if he is a Lib. You’ll need it mate.
The Coalition won this election via Murdoch, $60m in ads from Palmer the wage thief and the manipulation of our electoral system which saw Palmer the wage thief insert a candidate in every electorate across the nation who then directed preferences for the LNP and the Coalition. None of the Palmer wage thief’s candidates filled out their nomination forms satisfactorily, the dual citizen status was ignored.
Palmer is the nail in the coffin of Australian democracy. People are still looking at why Labor lost the election without mentioning the 60 million dollar theft of our democracy. Palmer has achieved a bloodless coup of mega proportions.Palmer, Facebook and Murdoch have shown that PHON was right- you can buy seats in parliament at about one million per seat……..Palmer didn’t need to go to the NRA for money, he used his own, knowing like all shrewd business men he would at least double his return…….
The same crew is in charge. Any referendum will bring out the same hateful mob of destructive wreckers that caused so much misery during the SS marriage vote. If the idea is going to be killed-off, let it be now before the racists take to the airwaves.
This is why we can’t have good things.
What is indigenous recognition? – a voice to parliament – isn’t that merely another lobby group in our society ? that is completely normal , why all the the fuss ?
Cannot understand where you would insert race into the constitution – Australian constitution was an agreement between States to manage the commercial life of the continent and to divide the powers between the nearly created national body and the rest of the States. Nothing about individuals or even which state was the first State.
Surely the vocal proponents [evangelistas versus denialists] don’t propose re-writing the Constitution.
Ethnicity etc whether aboriginals or first settlers is not relevant in commonwealth constitutional matrix.
So back to my original point just another organised lobby grouping – why worry .
Race is already in the constitution. That section needs removing completely, but it is there.
Funny – the courts haven’t found it there since the constitution was written!
As initially drafted, s 51(xxvi) empowered the Parliament to make laws with respect to: “The people of any race, other than the aboriginal race in any State, for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws”. The Australian people voting at the 1967 referendum deleted the words in italics.
The Australian Parliament, under the amended power, can make laws with respect to the people of any race for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws. Has that provision been amended since 1967, maybe while I was overseas and unable to vote on It?
The constitution also includes New Zealand as part of Australia because it was believed that NZ would probably join the Commonwealth at time of signing or shortly thereafter:-
The Commonwealth shall mean the Commonwealth of Australia as established under this Act.
The States shall mean such of the colonies of New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia, and South Australia, including the northern territory of South Australia, as for the time being are parts of the Commonwealth, and such colonies or territories as may be admitted into or established by the Commonwealth as States; and each of such parts of the Commonwealth shall be called a State.