Section 25 of the Australian Constitution provides, to this day:
Provision
as to races disqualified from voting
For the purposes of the last section, if by the law of
any State all persons of any race are disqualified from voting at elections for
the more numerous House of the Parliament of the State, then, in reckoning the
number of the people of the State or of the Commonwealth, persons of that race
resident in that State shall not be counted.
In other words, a State can, under the Constitution, disqualify
an entire race from voting, and the members of that race will not be included
in the quota for representation of that State in the Commonwealth parliament.
You only have to read the Constitution to realise how deeply
racist it remains. This represents important unfinished business for Australia.
Our Constitution is the founding document of our nation.
Some of its contents may be symbolic, but it is no less important as a
cornerstone of our polity for that: symbols matter. Much of its contents have real practical consequences.
We, the community governed by the Constitution, have the
right to change it so that it reflects our values. It can be amended by a
majority of voters in a majority of States.
In thinking about our Constitution, it is good to consider the type of Australia we want to see in the future.
It is imperative that Australia becomes a republic, so that
we are, at least in our forms of government, independent from other nations. It
makes no sense to have our head of state a person from a foreign country who
attains that office by inheritance.
Pressing though a republic is, it ought not to be
accomplished without a just settlement with the First Australians. That must
have priority.
After a lengthy and consultative process, the Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander peoples have spoken.
In their Uluru Statement from the Heart, the outcome of the 2017 National
Constitutional Convention, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples make a
simple request that all Australians should endorse:
We seek constitutional reforms to empower our people
and take a
rightful place in our own country. When we have power
over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and
their culture will be a gift to their country.
We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice
enshrined in the Constitution.
Makarrata is the culmination of our agenda: the coming together after a struggle. It captures
our aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with the people of
Australia and a better future for our children based on justice and
self-determination.
We seek a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process
of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling
about our history.
In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard.
We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. We invite you
to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.
The Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull, after
cabinet consideration of the Uluru Statement, dismissed it
with the words:
The government does not believe such an addition to our
national representative institutions is either desirable or capable of winning
acceptance in a referendum.
He said that the voice to Parliament ‘would inevitably become
seen as a third chamber of parliament’ – but provided no justification for the
assertion. It is plainly wrong.
Ironically, in the light of s 25 of the Constitution, quoted
above, and which allows the exclusion of entire races from voting, he said:
Our democracy is built on the foundation of all Australian
citizens having equal civic rights … a constitutionally enshrined additional
representative assembly for which only Indigenous
Australians could vote for or serve in is
inconsistent with this fundamental principle.
Yet another attempt to build reconciliation between First
Australians and those of us who have come after has been cast aside with casual
contempt.
Our Constitution badly needs an overhaul. The implementation
of the Uluru Statement should be the first priority.
