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This book examines whether Australia's constitution should be reformed so as to enable the country to fulfil its obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which it ratified in 2009. The book surveys the history of the constitutional status of Australia's Indigenous peoples from the time of colonisation through to the current debate on 'Indigenous constitutional recognition'. However, it argues that the term 'Indigenous constitutional recognition', implying that mere acknowledgement of the existence of Indigenous peoples is sufficient to meet their legitimate expectations, misrepresents the nature of the project the country needs to engage in.
The book argues that Australia should instead embark upon a reform programme directed towards substantive, and not merely symbolic, constitutional change. It argues that only by the inclusion in the constitution of enforceable constitutional rights canthe power imbalance between Indigenous Australians and the rest of society be addressed. Taking a comparative approach and drawing upon the experience of other jurisdictions, the book proposes a comprehensive constitutional reform programme, and includes the text of constitutional amendments designed to achieve the realisation of the rights of Australia's Indigenous peoples. It ends with a call to improve the standard of civics education so as to overcome voter apprehension towards constitutional change.
List of contents
1. Terminology, values and identity.- 2. How we got here - the reform debate from 2010-2015.- 3. Sovereignty and the impact of colonisation.- 4. Treaty-making and its limitations.- 5. Self-determination and an Indigenous state.- 6. Legal pluralism.- 7. Rights, race and culture.- 8. The Voice to Parliament.- 9. Indigenous parliamentary representation.- 10.Summary of reforms and the way forward.
About the author
Dr. Bede Harris is a Senior Lecturer and the Law Discipline Head at Charles Sturt University's School of Business. He possesses a notable academic trajectory, including a BA(Mod) from Trinity College, University of Dublin, an LLB (cum laude) from Rhodes University in South Africa, and a DPhil from the University of Waikato in New Zealand. His extensive teaching background encompasses institutions such as the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, the University of Waikato, James Cook University, and the University of Canberra. Dr. Harris specializes in Constitutional Law, particularly reform, Indigenous legal matters, Corporations Law, and Consumer Law. Notably, in 2001 Bede was awarded a Fulbright Senior Fellowship and attended the American Studies Institute held at the Meyner Centre for the Study of Government at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.
