Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, I present the committee's progress report on the inquiry into Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. This progress report clarifies the joint select committee's views on the words proposed by the expert panel's 2012 report to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution. Among the recommendations is that section 25 of the Constitution be repealed and that the expert panel's proposed section 127A is not inserted into the Constitution.

Following the consultations of the committee, we have found that both of these recommendations have broad community support. The task at hand is to decide how the actual recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples takes form in the Constitution and how to ensure that the wording remains technically and legally sound.

To this end, the committee recommends the repeal or amendment of section 51(xxvi) to remove the reference to race and recommends that the parliament consider three structural options for constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that are set out in the report. It is the committee's strong view that any proposal must preserve both existing Commonwealth laws relying on section 51(xxvi) and the Commonwealth's power to make laws with respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

National active leadership must now be shown on this issue. I congratulate and thank the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition for the constructive bipartisan dialogue they have been having on this very important issue. It is time to take this step further and I urge all members and senators to learn more about the proposals contained in this progress report and become part of the process. The committee is still conducting hearings across the nation, and the more Australians encouraged to become part of the process the more successful the referenda will be.

It is important that all members and senators are empowered to become part of discussions as well, and I urge all political parties to start the discussions on constitutional recognition. Contained within this progress report is the recommendation that each house of parliament set aside a full day of sittings to debate concurrently recommendations of the joint select committee as set out in the report with a view to achieving near unanimous parliamentary support for and to build momentum towards a referendum to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution.

Constitutional recognition is not something to be scared of. We have a real opportunity here to enact lasting historical and well overdue change to our Constitution. We cannot lose this momentum or goodwill. I repeat again: national active leadership is needed now on this issue, and I urge everyone to become part of the process that is occurring with the joint select committee. Further recommendations made in the progress report are that a referendum should take place at or shortly after the next federal election in 2016 and that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Recognition Act 2013 be extended to align with the proposed timing of a referendum.

Finally, I want to thank everyone who has made a submission to the committee at a public hearing or in writing and the secretariat staff for their hard work in putting together a very extensive consultation schedule and preparing this report. I also want to take this opportunity before the end of the year to thank the other committee members: Deputy Chair Senator Nova Peris; the Hon. Christian Porter MP; Senator Bridget McKenzie; Senator James McGrath; Mr Shayne Neumann MP; Mr Stephen Jones MP; and Senator Rachel Siewert. They have been outstanding in the way they have conducted themselves in the business of the committee. All of the committee members have approached the task ahead of them with diligence, goodwill and a deep, meaningful respect. All have acted as parliamentarians rather than politicians, which is refreshing and essential to the success of the referendum. I commend the progress report to the House.

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