At the same time as it’s become clear that Indigenous people won’t accept a limited change, the right in Australian politics has become more determined to oppose any amendment.
The statement from the constitutional convention at Uluru reflects long-held Indigenous aspirations.
AAP/Lucy Hughes Jones
Indigenous Australians have issued a statement calling for constitutional reform that is substantive and meaningful.
At a demonstration, Faith Bandler (right) and her daughter Lilon (2R) appeal to national unity as grounds for constitutional amendment.
Aboriginal Studies Press
The 1967 referendum was the culmination of a long struggle for both Aboriginal rights and respect, for social esteem as well as equality before the law.
The constitutional convention is the latest step in the long-running debate on constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians.
AAP/Dan Peled
No treaty between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians has ever been recognised, but developments at the state level suggest this may soon change.
The format of the ABC program Recognition: Yes or No? is problematic, and the choice of voices particularly so.
ABC Publicity
The ABC has missed a rare opportunity to deeply engage with the diversity of views among Indigenous Australians about whether and how they should be ‘recognised’ in the Constitution.
Malcolm Turnbull explicitly chose to assume the mantle of his predecessor Tony Abbott as ‘prime minister for Indigenous affairs’.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
The longer the process of recognising Indigenous Australians in the Constitution goes on, the more debate is likely to split and fracture.
Malcolm Turnbull’s criticism of Bill Shorten’s remarks on a treaty with Indigenous Australians reflects genuine anxiety that support for recognition is cooling.
AAP/Tracey Nearmy
If we are to have a mature and sensible debate on Indigenous recognition, we must be more willing to embrace difficult issues and diverse perspectives.
Australia has rejected self-determination as being fundamental to Indigenous humanness and development.
AAP/Marianna Massey
Public policy no longer requires the imprimatur of the Aboriginal people; Aboriginal participation in the decisions taken about their lives is negligible.
As election day edges closer, the Labor Party finds itself without much of a tailwind. At Labor’s official campaign launch on Sunday, Bill Shorten will need to bring together the party’s story.
Bill Shorten on Tuesday confirmed that he was open to the idea of a treaty with Australia’s Indigenous people.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
Would debate about a treaty with the First Australians endanger the success of the proposed referendum for their constitutional recognition – as Malcolm Turnbull claims? Very likely. But it can’t be avoided…
The Coalition has fundamentally altered the architecture of Indigenous policymaking and delivery since 2013.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
Serious policy focus on Indigenous affairs has been notably absent during the early weeks of the long election campaign.
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, constitutional change is about righting injustices inherent in the current recognition of difference, rather than promoting an agenda of sameness.
Michael Coghlan/Flickr
The process of constitutional recognition was initially to be completed by 2013, but is now being directed towards a referendum in May 2017 to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum.
Native Americans have struggled for recognition of the violence done to them through colonisation and the persistent harms of settler colonialism.
EPA/Mike Nelson
Despite significant shortcomings in the negotiation, content and honouring of treaties, they continue to define the nature of the relationship between most Native Americans and the United States.
Bill Shorten hopes Pat Dodson’s presence in the Senate will help on the debate over constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians.
Lukas Coch/AAP
Pat Dodson, the father of reconciliation, is set to become a Labor senator for Western Australia following Joe Bullock’s surprise announcement that he is quitting.
Grand Chief Perry Bellegarde presents a blanket to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly.
Reuters/Chris Wattie
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, and Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University