Like what you've read?

On Line Opinion is the only Australian site where you get all sides of the story. We don't
charge, but we need your support. Here�s how you can help.

  • Advertise

    We have a monthly audience of 70,000 and advertising packages from $200 a month.

  • Volunteer

    We always need commissioning editors and sub-editors.

  • Contribute

    Got something to say? Submit an essay.


 The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
On Line Opinion logo ON LINE OPINION - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate

Subscribe!
Subscribe





On Line Opinion is a not-for-profit publication and relies on the generosity of its sponsors, editors and contributors. If you would like to help, contact us.
___________

Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

An open letter to my aboriginal compatriots

By Rodney Crisp - posted Wednesday, 21 September 2016


Until the aboriginal natives of this Country shall consent, either actually or by implication, to the interposition of our laws in the administration of justice for acts committed by themselves upon themselves, I know of no reason human, or divine, which ought to justify us in interfering with their institutions even if such interference were practicable.

Theoretically, indigenous peoples were granted electoral voting rights when Australian citizenship was created in 1949 and all Australians, including indigenous peoples, were granted Australian citizenship, provided they were entitled to enrol for state elections or had served in the Australian defence forces.  Putting the theory into practice, however, was not so simple.  As Dr. Paula Gerber, an Associate Professor at the Monash University Law School, pointed out in an article published on the ABC web site in 2012, many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were not, and are still not, eligible to vote because they do not have a birth certificate.  Their birth was either never registered, or it was registered but their parents could not afford to pay for the birth certificate.

Dr. Gerber adds that without a birth certificate, it is also impossible to obtain a passport or driver’s license, and may be difficult to open a bank account, access social security, or obtain a tax file number. Without a birth certificate, some parents have even struggled to enrol their children in school.   

Advertisement

The formal equality of indigenous and non-indigenous peoples’ voting rights and duties was enacted by The Commonwealth Electoral Amendment Act 1983 which rendered the enrolment for and voting in Commonwealth elections compulsory for indigenous Australians.

The current, 45th Federal Parliament includes four indigenous parliamentarians - two senators and two members of the House of Representatives, one of whom, Ken Wyatt, was the first indigenous member of the House of Representatives, elected in 2010.  He is also the first indigenous member of Parliament to hold a ministerial position as the Assistant Minister for Health (from 30 September 2015).

As Australia’s Lower House has 150 politicians and the Senate 76, we should have at least 6 indigenous federal parliamentarians if strict proportionality were to be respected (Aboriginal peoples representing 3% of the population).  With four at present, we only need two more to attain strict proportionality.      

The composition of our society has also evolved.  According to the national census in 2011, over a quarter (26%) of our population was born overseas and a further one fifth (20%) had at least one overseas-born parent.  While historically, the majority of migration has come from Europe, there are increasingly more Australians who were born in Asia and other parts of the world.

This diversity can be seen in the variety of languages, religions, ancestries and birthplaces reported in the national census.  It is a direct result of the end of the White Australia Policy in 1975.  Australia has become a multicultural country and there is no turning back.  This places the relationship of indigenous and non-indigenous peoples in a very different perspective.

So where do we go from here?  Personally, I see four major issues we need to address :

Advertisement
  1. The Aboriginal tribal elders need to define realistic short, medium and long term objectives for their people to improve their individual outcomes, indicating how and when these objectives should be achieved.
  2. We need to establish a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), or similar document, to the effect that as Australian citizens we constitute a single nation even though we come from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds which we are free to continue, to honour and cultivate, provided we do not encroach on the freedom of others.
  3. We need to modify our pre-eminent “social contract”, the Australian Constitution, to recognise the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as the first peoples of Australia.
  4. As it was the British who colonised our country under the auspices of the Crown, they bear the prime responsibility for the deep-rooted injustices caused to our indigenous peoples by colonisation.  But history records that the same ill-treatment, and worse, was inflicted on them by successive generations of Australians.  It is clear that our two governments and the Crown are jointly and severally responsible for all this and owe them compensation.

In her capacity as head of state of New Zealand, Queen Elizabeth II approved a parliamentary bill in 1995 which "apologizes unreservedly" to the New Zealand Maori for treaty violations and the invasion of its lands in 1863.   The legislation included reparations amounting to $112 million and the return of 39,000 acres to the Tainui people. The legislation states that "the Crown expresses its profound regret and apologizes unreservedly for the loss of lives because of the hostilities arising from its invasion, and at the devastation of property and social life which resulted".     

More recently, in 2013, the British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, expressed “sincere regret” for torture and abuse committed by British colonial officers against indigenous “Mau Mau” Kenyans in the 1950s and announced a compensation package worth £19.9 million to be divided among 5,200 victims.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. Page 2
  4. 3
  5. All


Discuss in our Forums

See what other readers are saying about this article!

Click here to read & post comments.

292 posts so far.

Share this:
reddit this reddit thisbookmark with del.icio.us Del.icio.usdigg thisseed newsvineSeed NewsvineStumbleUpon StumbleUponsubmit to propellerkwoff it

About the Author

Rodney Crisp is an international insurance and risk management consultant based in Paris. He was born in Cairns and grew up in Dalby on the Darling Downs where his family has been established for over a century and which he still considers as home. He continues to play an active role in daily life on the Darling Downs via internet. Rodney can be emailed at rod-christianne.crisp@orange.fr.

Other articles by this Author

All articles by Rodney Crisp

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Photo of Rodney Crisp
Article Tools
Comment 292 comments
Print Printable version
Subscribe Subscribe
Email Email a friend
Advertisement

About Us Search Discuss Feedback Legals Privacy