Conference Papers
Session EDE 2.3 Constitutional Reform concerning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples from 1967-2013. Presentation by young scholars
1. Tjanara Goreng Goreng: A personal account of the historical & political climate of the 1967 referendum
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In 1967 I was 7 years old and in Grade 4 of primary school but I remember very clearly the excitement and interest in my family of the referendum and its outcome. I remember going in our car with my parents to the Civic Centre in Longreach when my mother first went to vote in an election as an Aboriginal person. As I waited in the car with my siblings, I remember her pride and her shyness at finally being able to do that with my father. I spoke with her about it recently to get again her first hand account. My mother has seen many changes in her 82 years, from this to Native Title rights to her own country and her children becoming equal in their land. 12 years later as a young Indigenous political activist and public servant in Canberra surrounded by the likes of Charles Perkins, Patrick Dodson, Michael Mansell, Heather Sculthorpe, Galarwuyy Yunipingu, Uncle Bob Randall and others I understood more clearly what that time meant. What it meant to my mother, who was finally recognised as a citizen in her own country and did not have to deny her Aboriginality in order to vote in an election as every other ‘non-Aboriginal’ person in Australia could. Now as an academic with my colleagues teaching Indigenous history at University, I focus significantly in some of our subjects on these events and the events that preceded and came after that historic victory for Indigenous people. This talk will weave the personal and historical to discuss the political climate of that time with a young Aboriginal girls’ experience with her mother of being able to be proud of their identity and be recognised finally as equal to other Australians politically and have a say in the governance of our country.
Author bio: Tjanara Goreng Goreng is a PhD candidate at The Australian National University and an Associate Professor at the University of Canberra’s Ngunnawal Centre. Her doctoral studies focus on the impacts of contemporary leadership development and community development.
2. Nick Duff: Negotiating political community: constructivist insights into the constitutional recognition question
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In developing and assessing proposals for the amendment of the Commonwealth Constitution to recognise the distinct identity and culture of Aboriginal Australians, there has often been insufficient theorisation of what precisely “recognition” is intended to achieve or what precisely is wrong with the current constitutional and political structure. Drawing on the author’s recent research into the political philosophy underpinning theories of self-determination, this presentation explores some of the underlying concerns in the constitutional recognition debate. The author argues that proposals limited to non-discrimination or the recognition of “unique cultural contribution to the nation” are unlikely to result in significant change to the deeper problems which may affect perceptions of state-legitimacy among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
3. Henry Burmester: Constitutional recognition of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples in the upcoming referendum
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In December 2010, following nominations by the public, the Australian Government announced the membership of the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The Panel, which consists of a range of respected and accomplished individuals, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community leaders, constitutional experts and parliamentary members, will lead a wide-ranging national public consultation and engagement program throughout 2011, culminating in a report on its findings due to government by December 2011.
Author bio: Henry Burmester AO QC is currently on the expert panel for constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples which is conducting consultations across the country and receiving submissions in preparation for its Dec 2011 report to government. He has been Chief General Counsel in the Australian Government Solicitor and before that head of the Office of International Law at the Attorney-General’s Department. As Counsel, he has appeared for the Commonwealth in leading constitutional cases before the High Court.