HURRY, seats are filling fast! To open this important forum to a wider audience, registrations are now $99 ($49.50 discount registrations for students and unwaged).
For further information, please call Denise Lester on 02 9385 9623 or email her at denise.lester@unsw.edu.au
Background to Forum
May 27, 1967 marked a watershed in Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations in this country. An overwhelming 90.77 per cent of australians voted in favour of amending the Constitution act of australia to remove the impediment to the Commonwealth Government making special laws with respect to Aborigines and repealed the prohibition against the inclusion of aboriginal people in the counting of the national census.
As we approach the 40th anniversary of this historical landmark, it is appropriate to reflect upon the significance of these Constitutional amendments and opportunities for further reform at the beginning of the 21st century.
The 1967 Constitutional amendments paved the way for several beneficial legislative developments under the Whitlam, Fraserand subsequent governments. The question of whether the operation of the Constitution is confined to laws for the benefit of the people of a particular race remains unsettled. Beginning with the Hindmarsh Island Bridge Act 1997, there has been a string of legislative developments, including the Native Title Amendment Act 1998, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Amendment Act 2005, and the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Amendment Act 2006 that are arguably detrimental to Indigenous interests.
Where to now?
If our political and legal processes are failing to provide adequate safeguards for the protection and promotion of Indigenous rights, the issue of Constitutional reform arises. Is amending the Constitution the best way to overcome these limitations and, if so, what changes would be most beneficial? |
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