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Essay on indigenous rights in australia
Essay on indigenous rights in australia
Australian indigenous people's rights
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Our Constitution was written more than a century ago. By then, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples had lived in this land for more than 40,000 years. But the Australia’s founding document did not recognize the ATSI people as the first people of this land. This founding document mentioned Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples only to discriminate. Until the 1967 Referendum. This lend to Segregation has cause a rift between Indigenous Australian and non- Indigenous Australian. Even to this day our Constitution still does not recognize the first Australians. And it still says in Section 25 that the States can ban people from voting based on their race.
Oxfam (2015) suggests “75% of Australians would support constitutional reform”,
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Constitution recognition and/or treaty for ATSI people
An Panel of Experts suggests if the Aboriginal would be recognized in the Constitutional recognition, the section of 25 or 51 be repealed and should be rewritten with something simple and effective like section of the Australian Constitution “Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples”. Another laws should be implemented which should stop racism and discrimination of any kind.
Views
Professor Geoge Williams - They believe that if the Government of Australia is to Constitutional Reform Negate Aboriginal Sovereignty
Professor Geoge Williams support both Constitution recognition and a treaty for ATSI people
He believes that it is wrong to suggest that we should change the Australian constitution. His believes that it is a bit weird to recognize Aboriginal Sovereignty in that of a white settler constitution and it is the wrong and believes that Aboriginal Sovereignty must be expressed by ATSI themselves a treaty rather that
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I’m not part of an “Aboriginal race”. I’m a member of the Bundjalung nation. Nations are not the same as sovereign countries. There are dozens of stateless nations. Constitutional recognition isn’t about race. Nationhood isn’t about race. It’s about the continuation and evolution of culture through a group of people. There’s no other country where Australia’s traditional nations will continue and evolve.
Power structures throughout the 19th century was race based and was controlled by the first white people and the Indigenous Australians had no say in the Constitution and was even excluded even from being counted in the tally of citizens under section 127 of the Constitution. This lend to segregation policies which caused a bigger gap.
Educate non- Indigenous Australians about what happen to them since it is our history and close the gap between Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians. Statistics show there is a huge gap in education between Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians but programs such as close The Gap are hoping to help Aboriginal employment and receive a higher
... community and live along side white Australians, while other aboriginals happily moved in to the community and came to live a more civilised life.
The first is Paul Keating’s Redfern speech of December 1992, during the Mabo case. Keating spoke about the injustices committed against Indigenous people since European settlement of Australia and the need to acknowledge and remedy these. The conflicting source is an interview of John Howard on the 7.30 report in 1997, 4 years after the Mabo decision. Howard deals with the perceived implications of the Mabo and subsequent land title decisions for land ownership across Australia. The two sources conflict as they are taken from opposing parts of the mainstream Australian political spectrum. They reflect the so-called History Wars, a debate regarding the unresolved cultural struggle over the nature of the Indigenous dispossession and the place it should assume in Australian self-understanding. The Redfern Speech sets out the views of the left wing, progressive spectrum of Australian political views. John Howard’s interview sets out the arguments against the political and economic effects of the Mabo decision and subsequent land title decisions and largely reflects right-wing political views. The sources differ not only in their political views but also the time that they were given. Keating sets out his moral perspective regarding the need to rectify the past wrongs and improve the future prospects for Australian indigenous people. It was delivered before the final Mabo high court decision, and so cannot deal with the social, economic and political implications of said decision. Contrastingly, John Howards interview was 4 years after the Mabo decision, during which several subsequent land title decisions had been made. Consequently, his interview focused on his views of the implications of those subsequent events for Australia’s political, social and economic
The National Apology of 2008 is the latest addition to the key aspects of Australia’s reconciliation towards the Indigenous owners of our land. A part of this movement towards reconciliation is the recognition of Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders rights to their land. Upon arrival in Australia, Australia was deemed by the British as terra nullius, land belonging to no one. This subsequently meant that Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders were never recognised as the traditional owners. Eddie Mabo has made a highly significant contribution to the rights and freedoms of Indigenous Australians as he was the forefather of a long-lasting court case in 1982 fighting for the land rights of the Torres Strait Islanders. Eddie Mabo’s introduction of the Native Title Act has provided Indigenous Australians with the opportunity to state claim to their land, legally recognising the Indigenous and the Torres Strait Islanders as the traditional owners.
For many years, the question of how adaptable and flexible the constitution is in Australia has been widely debated. As of now the atmosphere of verbal confrontation on protected change, has restored enthusiasm toward the issue in exploring whether the constitution is versatile and adaptable in meeting the needs of the nation following 100 years in being embraced.
The Assimilation was a policy set by the government in 1937 and went to till 1964. This policy of Assimilation was set not just for Aborigines in Australia but for all foreign immigrants that were not European and white in colour. Having this policy set in place meant that Aborigines were forced to give up their heritage and adopt the culture of the British/Anglo Saxons. This law sent children away from their families to learn how to become and live like a white Australian, leaving all memories, beliefs, and traditions behind. Another major impact this had toward the Aborigines was they had no rights or freedoms and finally all culture, heritage, beliefs were left behind and made to start a new life living as a 'white fella’.
Key events in Aboriginal Australian history stem from the time Australia was first discovered in 1788. For instance, when Federation came into existence in 1901, there was a prevailing belief held by non Aboriginal Australians that the Aborigines were a dying race (Nichol, 2005:259) which resulted in the Indigenous people being excluded from the constitution except for two mentions – Section 127 excluded Aborigines from the census and Section 51, part 26, which gave power over Aborigines to the States rather than to the Federal Government. Aboriginal people were officially excluded from the vote, public service, the Armed Forces and pensions. The White Australia mentality/policy Australia as “White” and unfortunately this policy was not abolished until 1972. REFERENCE
Indigenous People. In evaluating the Legal System’s response to Indigenous People and it’s achieving of justice, an outline of the history of Indigenous Australians - before and during settlement - as well as their status in Australian society today must be made. The dispossession of their land and culture has deprived Indigenous People of economic revenue that the land would have provided if not colonised, as well as their ... ... middle of paper ... ...
...ndigenous recognition and the removal of racist remarks has been an on-going theme for a vast majority of time. The necessity of Constitutional reform to close the gap on cultural divide as well as support the on-going concept of reconciliation is essential in ensuring Australia continues to improve and nurture its relationship with Indigenous peoples. The process of amendment through referendum has proven to be problematic in the past, with the success rate exceptionally low. Though with key factors such as bi-partisan support, widespread public knowledge and correct management, the alteration to remove racial discrimination and provide recognition for Indigenous persons within the Constitution is highly achievable. If proposed and eventually passed, this will provide assistance in eliminating many of the cultural gaps Indigenous persons face throughout society.
Throughout the world, in history and in present day, injustice has affected all of us. Whether it is racial, sexist, discriminatory, being left disadvantaged or worse, injustice surrounds us. Australia is a country that has been plagued by injustice since the day our British ancestors first set foot on Australian soil and claimed the land as theirs. We’ve killed off many of the Indigenous Aboriginal people, and also took Aboriginal children away from their families; this is known as the stolen generation. On the day Australia became a federation in 1901, the first Prime Minister of Australia, Edmund Barton, created the White Australia Policy. This only let people of white skin colour migrate to the country. Even though Australia was the first country to let women vote, women didn’t stand in Parliament until 1943 as many of us didn’t support female candidates, this was 40 years after they passed the law in Australian Parliament for women to stand in elections. After the events of World War Two, we have made an effort to make a stop to these issues here in Australia.
The reason for this report was to explain the steps that were taken to create and implement this action plan and the outcomes. My three actions were established to help carry out my vision of bringing together the two sides by creating equality and harmony. First I wanted to create a better understanding of Aboriginal history, culture and their people within my family and friendship groups. I tackled this by talking not only in-person but also over social media about the past struggles of Aboriginal people and reduce the stigma and misconceptions that surround Aboriginal people. The second action was to restore trust between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians by involving friends and family in public and activities and events that are related to learning more about what gaps need closing and coming together. My third action plan was to eradicate racism and as a way to contribute to this cause long term, I signed up to be a Constitutional Recognition Campaigner through ANTAR. As this campaign is about changing the Australian constitution to include Aboriginal people and also to remove sections that have to power to stop Aboriginal people from voting and sections that give the Australian governmen...
The 1967 referendum resulted in the change of the Constitution on August 10 of that year, initiating the start of great change for the lives of indigenous people in Australia. The referendum sought to change Sections 51 and 127 of the Constitution. Section 51 stated the Federal Government could make laws for anyone in the nation except aborigines, leaving state governments in charge (Creative Spirits – 1967 Referendum, online, 14/8/15). Section 127 specified that when the population of the Commonwealth was counted, indigenous people were not included (Creative Spirits – 1967 Referendum, online, 14/8/15). According to Faith Bandler, an indigenous civil rights activist, it was important to force the Commonwealth to be responsible for the aborigines
Since the time of federation the Aboriginal people have been fighting for their rights through protests, strikes and the notorious ‘day of mourning’. However, over the last century the Australian federal government has generated policies which manage and restrained that of the Aboriginal people’s rights, citizenships and general protection. The Australian government policy that has had the most significant impact on indigenous Australians is the assimilation policy. The reasons behind this include the influences that the stolen generation has had on the indigenous Australians, their relegated rights and their entitlement to vote and the impact that the policy has had on the indigenous people of Australia.
It would not be inconsistent with the principle of equality before the law that, where members of the Aboriginal race have special needs, those should be recognised by special rules laid down by the law. Further, the law is flexible enough to allow the courts to consider the special situation of an Aboriginal party where that is relevant. As the courts have recognised, the sentencing of Aboriginal offenders presents particular difficulties. Judges, in an attempt to do justice in discharging the difficult role of sentencing tribal and semi-tribal Aboriginal persons, have gone further. Clearly the ordinary criminal law is capable of facing these difficulties. It is neither necessary, nor desirable, to apply to the Aboriginal peoples the rules of their customary law rather than the general law. The attempt to uphold Aboriginal customary law is one aspect of the notion that the Aboriginal peoples will benefit if they continue to be treated as a class separate from the rest of the community, which must necessarily be a dependent and disadvantaged class.
The 1967 referendum was an open vote to decide the popular's assessments of two parts of the Australian constitution (a composed proclamation which traces the nation's standards and controls) that related straightforwardly to Indigenous Australians. The issue of Indigenous rights was encountering a blast in mindfulness and activity was being requested by the overall population. Harrold Holt, the Prime Minister at the time was in charge of consenting to the national vote that would decide whether the Australian open needed the constitution to change or not.
The decision upheld the claims of five plaintiffs from Murray Island that Australia was occupied by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who had their own laws and customs, and whose 'native title' to land survived the Crown's invasion. Therefore, the court recognised the presence of native title as part of Australian common law.