All past and present Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioners have announced a plan for constitutional reform within five years, saying it’s time to stop “endlessly discussing” and commit to “action that would allow Indigenous Australians to take a rightful place in our nation”.
The proposal from the current commissioner, June Oscar, and her four predecessors – Mick Gooda, Tom Calma, William Jonas and Mick Dodson – recommends a regular parliamentary motion by which MPs and senators could “be held accountable to the Australian people, by indicating whether they support removing racism from the constitution or not”.
The submission, to the joint select committee on constitutional recognition, also calls for a negotiation process between parliament, the government and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples “to finalise the working of constitutional recognition”, and a new act to set out the framework for participation of Indigenous peoples.
The commissioners strongly support the establishment of a national voice and a truth and reconciliation royal commission.
All five commissioners had highlighted the need for constitutional reform over the past 25 years, Oscar said.
“Each process – the native title and social justice package of 1995, the reconciliation process up to 2000, and the last eight years of debate on constitutional reform – has provided the same answers.
“We are hoping our submission, based on more than two decades of advocacy, offers a pathway forward to address the unfinished business in this country.”
Oscar said the removal of racially discriminatory clauses in the constitution was critical.
“The fact that the race power has been used by successive governments in the last decade shows how this is a live, real issue,” Oscar said.
This latest process, with the joint select committee, represented an important opportunity.
“What we now need is strong political leadership to take this forward,” she said.
