Recognition of Indigenous Australians in the Federal Constitution

How, if at all, should Indigenous
Australians be recognized in the federal
Constitution?

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Federal constitution of Australia.....................................................................................................3
Reaction from Indigenous Australians............................................................................................4
Race and the Australian constitution...........................................................................................5
Changes required in federal constitution for the betterment of Indigenous Australian...............6
Impact on the country if all indigenous Australians be recognized in the federal Constitution......7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
This project report consists of research question “How, if at all, should Indigenous Australians be
recognized in the federal constitution?” The indigenous inhabitants of Australia, Aboriginal and
islanders of Torres ("Australian natives"), were the only occupants of the continent before
European colonization begins. An estimated 500,000 natives have inhabited the continent for at
least 50,000 years, living as hunter-gatherers in a community or limited common ownership
regime. According to data from the 2006 national census, the natives are now 517,200.
According to all the social indicators collected, with a five-year maturity, starting from the
census 1971, when the natives were first once counted and identified separately, it always is
there was a strong disparity in socioeconomic status among the natives and all the other
Australians. This report is based on outcome analysis of including all Aboriginal and islanders in
federal constitution in terms of impact on their rights and life style1.
Federal constitution of Australia
Constitution establishes that "executive power is attributed to the Queen and can be exercised by
the Governor General as the Queen's representative", the latter acts in accordance with the
proposal of the Ministers: on a customary basis, therefore, analogously to the British model,
executive power is actually in the hands of the government, which is accountable to Parliament.
Moreover, it is generally recognized that, on the basis of a constitutional convention, the
Governor General also has discretionary powers (the so-called reserve powers) that, although not
precisely defined, he could exercise, in particular and exceptional circumstances, even in the
absence of a ministerial proposal or contrary to this: for example, he could reject the Prime
Minister's request to dissolve the House of Representatives and could fire the Prime Minister
who has lost his support2.
1 The Hon Chief Justice R French, Theories of Everything and Constitutional Interpretation (Speech delivered at the
Gilbert & Tobin Centre of Public Law, UNSW, 2010 Constitutional Law Conference Dinner, Sydney, 19 February
2010), p 4
2 Former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, Sir Anthony Mason, has referred to this as a ‘glaring
omission’: Sir A Mason, ‘The Australian Constitution in retrospect and prospect’ in G Lindell (ed), The Sir Anthony
Mason Papers (2007) 144, p 148.