Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I want to go to where these words that will be put to the Australian people have come from. The 'con con' alliance developed a proposal in 2014—see if it sounds familiar—proposing a new chapter of the Constitution. It said this:

There shall be an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander body, to be called the [insert appropriate name, perhaps drawn from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander language], which shall have the function of providing advice to the Parliament and the Executive Government on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

It then went on, in clause 2, to say:

The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to the composition, roles, powers and procedures of the [body].

They were the two key clauses that were put forward in 2014. One of the authors was the shadow Attorney-General, who was a part of that body that was put forward in 2014. He is a lawyer, and the fact is that lawyers, including the member for Berowra and the shadow Attorney-General in this country, have put forward that wording, which has been backed up—

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