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Five years have passed since hundreds of First Nations leaders gathered in the red center of Australia to endorse the historic Uluru Declaration from the heart.
Now, with a new prime minister at the helm of a new government, it seems that the changes called for in the Uluru Declaration will finally be implemented.
When Anthony Albanese claimed victory on May 21, the first words in his mouth were a message of support for the statement: “I begin by recognizing the traditional owners of the land where we live. I pay my respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging, and on behalf of the Australian Labor Party I am fully committed to the Uluru Declaration from the bottom of my heart, ”he said.
But what does the Uluru Declaration really call for? And what can we expect in the first term of a Labor government?
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What is Uluru’s statement?
The Uluru Declaration from the Heart is a document (above) written and endorsed by hundreds of Indigenous leaders inviting the Australian people to join them in their call for structural and constitutional reforms to improve the lives of Aboriginal people and the islanders of the Torres Strait. It is important to note that it is not aimed at the government or politicians.
Its 12 paragraphs are simple and straightforward. He points out that the sovereignty of First Nations peoples is ongoing and has never been ceded, and calls for the creation of two new institutions: an Indigenous Voice in Parliament and a Makarrata Commission to oversee the drafting of treaties and the declaration of the truth.
“We are looking for constitutional reforms to empower our people and take their rightful place in our own country,” the statement said. “When we have power over our destiny, our children will flourish. They will walk two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country.”
The three key reforms called for in the statement can be summarized as Voice, Treaty and Truth, in that order.
The statement was the culmination of years of work. A Referendum Council, appointed in 2015 by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Labor leader Bill Shorten, held 12 dialogues (town hall-style meetings) with Indigenous people across the country. It then brought together more than 250 Indigenous delegates for a convention at the “spiritual heart of Australia”, Uluru, a sacred place for traditional Anangu local owners.
It was at this meeting that the statement was endorsed with a standing ovation. Several delegates marched in protest while the vast majority supported it: a historic, albeit not unanimous, consensus.
Read the full statement here.
Mutitjulu Elder Rolley Mintuma Presents Uluru’s Statement in a Pite to Teangi Brown and Irene Davey During the Closing Ceremony of the National Convention in May 2017. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
What is an indigenous voice?
A Voice would be an advisory body for indigenous peoples to express views to MPs on policies and legislation that would affect their communities. It would allow indigenous people to provide expert knowledge and feedback and have their say on how government decisions affect their lives.
The statement argues that reforms such as an Indigenous Voice would empower First Nations people to address the “torment of impotence” that sees them too imprisoned and their children alienated from their families at an alarming rate.
Several countries already have some kind of indigenous voice. Proponents of the Uluru Declaration compare the idea to the First Nations parliaments of Norway, Sweden, and Finland for the Sami people. In another example, the New Zealand parliament reserves seven of its seats for Maori voters.
The Uluru Declaration does not describe what form a voice should take, but it does say that the body should be enshrined in the Australian Constitution, which should be done through a referendum. This would make it difficult to abolish hostile government, as the Howard government did with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands Commission (ATSIC) in 2005.
If enshrined in the Constitution, the Voice could only be removed by a second referendum, which would ultimately leave the decision to the Australian people.
How would a voice work?
Uluru’s statement and voice proposal were rejected by the former coalition government in 2017 under the leadership of Malcolm Turnbull. In fact, several senior members of this government have incorrectly claimed that an Indigenous Voice would be a potential “third chamber” of parliament.
Things began to change slowly after the 2019 election, when Ken Wyatt became the first Aboriginal person appointed as Australian Indigenous Minister. The Coalition still refused to support the Uluru Declaration, but the party was in favor of the idea of an Indigenous Voice, although it is not enshrined in the constitution. Wyatt promised to legislate it by an act of parliament.
Indigenous leaders Marcia Langton and Tom Calma were appointed in late 2019 to investigate what that voice might look like. Following the consultation, they recommended the creation of local and regional Voices working with all levels of government, followed by a National Voice who could advise on federal policies and laws.
Local and regional Voice bodies would be relatively flexible so that they could adapt to the needs of different communities, which could determine how many people participated with their local Voice and how they were appointed (either by elections or through structures). taken from traditional law and custom, for example).
The Langton and Calm report said the National Voice should have a more formal structure with two members from each state and territory plus another from the Torres Strait Islands. He also suggested that New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and South Australia have an additional member for remote residents and that there be an additional member for Torres Strait Islanders living on the mainland.
The Coalition pledged to legislate 35 local and regional bodies of Voice and allocated $ 31.8 million for its creation in its final budget. Nothing was included in the early estimates of a national voice. However, this process never happened: the Coalition lost the election before it could begin.
Labor, meanwhile, has backed a constitutionally enshrined voice in parliament since 2017.
K’gari Fraser Island in Queensland, with the declaration of Uluru in 2017.
What is a Makarrata Commission? And tell the truth?
Makarrata is a Yolgnu word meaning “a meeting after a fight.” This captures the idea of what this commission would like to do: help create a fair and truthful relationship between Indigenous people and other Australians. He would be in charge of making agreements between the peoples and the governments of the First Nations. Labor has made it clear that it also sees it as a body to oversee treaty signing processes.
Treaty processes are already underway in some jurisdictions to try to fix the unfair relations that have been created as a result of colonization. The Northern Territory and Victoria are two of these jurisdictions. The NT Treaty Commissioner has released a discussion paper detailing some of the more complex parts of the process. For example, he points out that treaties between First Nations people and settlers are often different from the usual treaties. These treaties often contain clauses to provide reparations to make up for historical losses that cannot be fixed, allow for limited self-government, and provide financial resources so that communities can have more economic power.
The Makarrata Commission would also oversee “truth-telling” activities. Truth refers to a process of sharing historical truths, warts and all, after periods of conflict or serious human rights violations. The idea is that by revealing the full extent of the injustices committed against indigenous peoples, society at large can fully accept history and move towards true reconciliation.
The Yoorrook Justice Commission has started a process of telling the truth in Victoria, which means “truth” in the Wemba Wemba / Wamba Wamba language. The commission is based on similar projects in Canada and New Zealand, as well as in Scandinavia, and is also partly based on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission set up by Nelson Mandela in post-apartheid South Africa.
Although the Uluru Declaration calls for the establishment of a voice before a Makarrata Commission, Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney says she wants to start working to create them at the same time, saying no strict sequence is needed. .
Victoria Aboriginal Minister Gabrielle Williams speaks at the Yoorrook Justice Commission in May. Credit: Joe Armao
WWhat are the next steps?
The day after Albanese began his election victory speech by reaffirming his support for the Uluru Declaration, Burney said a referendum to enshrine the Voice in the constitution could take place as early as next May.
The leaders of the Uluru Dialogue, a group of indigenous and non-indigenous leaders involved in the declaration, have already proposed two separate dates that they would like a referendum to be held: May 27, 2023 or January 27, 2024.
But before Australians vote on what would be the nation’s first referendum in two decades, there are a few things that need to happen.
Albanese has previously avoided committing to a firm timetable, saying he must first consult with indigenous communities. His government will also have to take into account the work done by the previous government in deciding whether to continue with the model that has already been designed.
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Members of Albanese’s first bench have also said they want the Coalition’s bipartisan support for constitutional change. This is a complicated proposal given the division that has been the issue for the Coalition. However, Labor will go ahead with a referendum regardless of whether it has the support of the opposition or not, this …