Nova Peris (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present the interim report of the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

Ordered that the report be printed.

I move:

  That the Senate take note of the report.

On behalf of the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, I present to the Senate the committee's report entitled Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples interim report.

It has been a long process leading up to the tabling of this report. But the tabling of the report is really just the start, because the tabling of this report really starts the conversation with all of the Australian people. It starts the process of promoting the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution to all Australian people. And that is my priority: doing what I can to help to get all Australians on board with the journey towards constitutional recognition.

The chair of the committee, Mr Ken Wyatt, and the Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Shayne Neumann, spoke yesterday in the House of Representatives and outlined the issues discussed within the interim report and how they relate to the original recommendations in the expert panel's report. These are very important issues and crucial to the process.

But I want to focus on what this process is really all about. It is about this nation having a referendum where Australians get to vote on whether to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the Constitution. Only eight out of the 44 referendums in Australia have succeeded. On that basis, we are up against it, but we must succeed. I take heart in the fact that one of the eight successful referendums was to give Aboriginal people the right to vote, and I hope that Australians support this next step on the path to reconciliation.

In a referendum, every Australian enrolled to vote gets a vote. And that means that the views of Australia's top constitutional lawyer are just as valid as the view of an Australian who today is not yet aware that this process is even underway, because ultimately they both get one vote each.

The constitutional issues will continue to be discussed by experts, as they should be. But, as we debate the issues, we must not lose sight of the need to bring all Australians along with us on the journey. Ultimately this is an opportunity for all Australians to celebrate 50,000 years of this nation's history, not just the last 226. We need Australians to embrace this. This is a fantastic opportunity for all Australians, and something we should all get behind so that our Constitution reflects Australia's entire history.

I want to compliment and promote the work of RECOGNISE, who are extremely active in promoting constitutional recognition. Just recently, we saw an example of RECOGNISE's work at the Indigenous round of the AFL in May, where there was a big R in the middle of each ground. I suspect that, for most people, in the crowd, or at home watching on the couch, or in the pub, finding out what the R in the middle of the ground was all about was their first exposure to this process, and to starting the conversation. Hopefully this will be the start of a process that leads them into a polling place to vote yes in the not too distant future. RECOGNISE will continue their work over the coming months, as will I as the deputy chair of the committee, and I will be supporting them wherever I can. I encourage everyone to get involved. Sign up as a supporter on the RECOGNISE website, follow them on Facebook, and be part of all the events and activities they are currently undertaking.

The next six months are crucial. The committee will be travelling around Australia talking to people about constitutional recognition. Next week we are in the Kimberley, and I am really looking forward to talking to as many Australians as I can on this issue. In particular, I want to meet people who are not yet aware of the process and the issues, and to encourage them all to get on board. I want to explain to them, and also to this chamber now, why this is such an important and positive step for this nation as a whole.

One of the important aspects of the work of the committee is to take on board the views of the people in the wording of the referendum that we want to take to the Australian people. Another important aspect is promoting the reasons behind the referendum. Some of the changes proposed by the expert panel and the interim report are self-explanatory and obvious. I think everyone would support the removal of section 25, which allows states to ban people from voting on the basis of their race. Obviously this does not happen anywhere in Australia at the moment, but the fact is that that section currently exists in our Constitution, and that simply has to change. That is a simple and an obvious change.

The expert panel has recommended a new section, 116A, to ban racial discrimination in this country. The interim report expands on this. It recommends a subsection (2) that provides that there can be laws for the purpose of overcoming disadvantage, getting rid of the effects of past discrimination, and protecting the culture, languages or heritage of any group. We need the Constitution to be clear. The Constitution of Australia should include a prohibition on racial discrimination.

The expert panel also proposed a section recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages as Australia's first tongues and confirming that English is Australia's national language. There are hundreds of languages currently spoken in Australia. Of course, English is the most commonly spoken but there should be no restriction on the use of other languages. The committee's report outlines the issues in relation to the expert panel's recommendation. On these issues and all issues raised in the report we now want to hear from all Australians. As I have said, the tabling of this report is really just the start.

I want to thank everyone involved in the process to date: the members of the expert panel, the members and staff of the committee and all the people who have provided advice to the expert panel and the committee.

I want to briefly comment on one thing. In the course of history it will not matter if this change to the Constitution occurs next year or if it occurs in 2016 or 2017. By far the most important aspect is that it succeeds; it cannot fail. But we should not delay. The work that Recognise is doing is creating a momentum. I do not believe that this momentum has peaked yet, but it will also not last forever.

Finally, I do have to point out a concern I have with the path to constitutional recognition. If the government plans to weaken provisions of the Racial Discrimination Act, it will undermine our process. These are plans that Australia's Attorney-General has defended as necessary to protect the rights of bigots. If the amendments currently proposed by the government are to be put before this parliament during the pathway towards recognition then I fear the pathway will be destroyed. I have written to the Prime Minister urging him to abandon his changes to the Racial Discrimination Act. I again urge him to do so, because we need to be doing everything we possibly can to make sure we succeed in amending the Constitution of Australia to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

As an Aboriginal woman, this issue is incredibly important to me, and it is incredibly important to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. In my role as an Aboriginal member of this parliament I am honoured to be in a position to advocate for recognition on behalf of all Aboriginal people and the Australian Labor Party. I will continue to do everything I can to ensure that the voices of Aboriginal Australians are heard as this pathway continues. I will also be doing everything I can to encourage all Australians to be a part of this process and to vote 'yes' for constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. I reiterate that Australia does not lose 226 years of history; it gains 50,000 years of history.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government welcomes the tabling of the interim report of the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. The government remains committed to pursuing recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution. We believe that appropriate constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can be a unifying moment for the nation. It is our intention to recapture the spirit of the 1967 referendum. The most significant constitutional milestone so far in according proper respect for our nation's first peoples was advanced by the Holt Liberal government.

The path to constitutional recognition starts with widespread parliamentary support, and the joint select committee is to be congratulated for seeking to establish a strong, multipartisan parliamentary consistence on proposals for change. The government recognises that broad support is critical to the success of any referendum. The government will now carefully study the interim report and looks forward to considering the final report next year. We will take the time that is necessary to ensure that any proposal enjoys the maximum prospects of success at a referendum.

I listened with care to what Senator Peris had to say. Might I say: as we all know, this will only succeed if it has bipartisan support, and it will only succeed if it is immune from other political controversies which should not be introduced into the discussion. If they are to be introduced then the bipartisanship upon which the success of this proposal depends would be lost, and that would be a tragedy.

I thank Senator Peris as deputy chair of the committee. I thank my colleague Mr Ken Wyatt, AM, MP, the member for Hasluck, for his conduct of the affairs of the committee. I think on this occasion we should also acknowledge the work of the inaugural chair of this committee, former Senator Trish Crossin, who is, in all respects, a pioneer in relation to this measure.

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

It is with pleasure that I stand to speak on the tabling of the interim report of the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. I am also a member of the joint committee and a very active participant. Members in this chamber are probably aware that I was also a very active member of the expert panel and have a great deal of commitment to the recommendations of the expert panel. But I have an enormous commitment to constitutional recognition of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and believe that this report is a next step in our journey to constitutional recognition.

I am a believer that constitutional recognition of our first peoples is a certainty. It is inevitable. It is the timing that is the point here. I am an advocate for ensuring that we get the question right, but I obviously also want to see it happen sooner rather than later. But that does not mean that I am going to support a rushed process with a question that does not reflect what I believe the community wants to see. That is, the community wants to see a substantive question put and substantive meaningful changes and not a token approach. I do not believe we should underestimate the willingness of the community to engage in this discussion and debate, which is why I am very pleased that we are going to be out, as of Monday, on the consultation process. As Senator Peris said, we will be in Broome, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed on Monday morning, very anxious and keen to hear from the community about its views not only on the interim report but also its broader views. Having participated in the extensive consultation that the expert panel undertook a couple of years ago in developing its report, I for one know that the community has a lot to say on this particular issue and are very keen to participate.

The interim report provides a good basis for us to go and out consult because the community wants to see and hear where the parliament is up to in its consideration of this very important issue. The expert panel report provided—and I am conflicted here, I will acknowledge—what I think are some very good recommendations for the interim panel to take up and progress in what we would prefer was called a multipartisan approach instead of a bipartisan approach (and I am not trying to have a go, Senator Brandis) to reflect the make-up of this parliament and our community. I know Senator Brandis did not mean to slight anyone and I am not meaning to slight him, but I do need to remind this place that we need a multipartisan approach to constitutional recognition if we are going to achieve a consensus approach to the issue and the questions that will inevitably turn up on a ballot paper.

The interim report makes a number of important points. As Senator Peris points out, there is already fairly strong agreement that section 25 is an outdated section of our Constitution. The committee put the view in the interim report that if we are to seek to change the Constitution, a successful referendum proposal must prevent the Commonwealth from discriminating against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This is a very important point. I would urge people to read the discussion in the interim report and the conclusions that we have reached.

I would be interested to hear what the community think about our comments on language. That is one of the recommendations of the expert panel. The interim report makes some points about language and whether that should have a separate power and should be incorporated into some of the other wording. I am very anxious to learn what the community feels about that. This report is an important step in our journey towards constitutional recognition. Constitutional recognition is an important step in our journey to a truly reconciled nation.

I also would like to endorse the 'Recognise' campaign. I have participated in that campaign. I have walked in Melbourne. I have walked in the bush. I have walked into Garma. In fact, I have even paddled in the leg in Western Australia for constitutional recognition at the conclusion of the first leg of the journey into Perth. I also walked as part of the next journey, starting from Perth as it headed off. This is a very important opportunity for Australia to continue our journey. I commend this report to the Senate. I urge Australians to read it and participate in the consultation process. I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too rise to speak on the interim report of the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and, in doing so, recognise that this is just the start of a very important process. As a member of this committee over the last number of months, I would like to acknowledge the outstanding work of the member for Hasluck, Mr Ken Wyatt, in the other place, and also Senator Peris in this place. The committee has had to work its way through a huge amount of information, including the comprehensive work of the expert panel. Even that report had an extraordinary diversity of views and opinions.

There are a number of recommendations on the table and now is the start of a journey to go out and consult with the wider public about what they see as being the most appropriate way to take this issue forward. There is no doubt that any change to the Constitution is an extremely important thing to undertake. The Constitution belongs to all Australians and all Australians should be comfortable with the wording of the Constitution, and any proposals that may go before this place or are part of a referendum that seeks to change the Constitution.

In the short time that I have had the opportunity to participate in this committee there has been a diversity of views. In fact, there is a diversity of people making comment on this. We have had constitutional lawyers, none of whom have yet to land on where this needs to go. Indigenous communities across Australia and the Torres Strait obviously have wide-ranging views and even within political parties there is a huge divergence of views as to how we should go about making the necessary changes for the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

There is a huge level of goodwill and belief that we do need to take this step towards recognition. Through the consultation process that has taken place to date, it has been very interesting to see the level of buy-in from people and the level of support for the process once they become aware of exactly what is involved in the changes that we seek to make. It has been a huge pleasure to have been able to participate in this committee over the previous months. I look forward to the journey that the committee takes and I wish the committee well in achieving the outcome in the best interests of all Australians. I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted.