Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that National Reconciliation Week is from 27 May to 3 June 2017 and the theme is "Let's Take the Next Steps";

(b) acknowledges that:

  (i) the first and last day of Reconciliation Week fall on significant anniversaries: the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum and the 25th anniversary of the Mabo decision,

  (ii) as a consequence of the 1967 referendum, two references in the Constitution, which discriminated against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, were removed,

  (iii) the removal of these references meant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples could be counted in the census and the Federal Government could make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples,

  (iv) the 1967 referendum achieved a 90.77 per cent 'yes' vote, the highest 'yes' vote of a federal referendum, and

  (v) the Mabo decision overturned the doctrine of 'terra nullius'; and

(c) calls on all levels of government to be a part of the next steps in our nation's reconciliation journey.

Question agreed to.