Australians will soon vote on an advisory body for indigenous peoples and recognize them in the constitution. “On October 14, every Australian will have a unique opportunity to unite our country and change it for the better,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday. The referendum must determine whether indigenous peoples will be recognized as indigenous people in Australia, and whether they will have their own advisory council.
The advisory body, if it comes, will voice Reveal his identity. Aboriginal and Aboriginal peoples of the Torres Strait Island Group elect their representatives. The body advises politicians on decisions affecting indigenous people, but parliament has the final say.
If the referendum is successful, Australia will be the last Western country to recognize its indigenous people. “Constitutional amendments are a complex process,” says Ad Borsbaum, an anthropologist and Aboriginal expert. “The last referendum on the Aboriginal issue was in 1967 when they got civil rights.” Australia fully supported this, but the recognition has remained largely symbolic. What, says Boersbaum: “So far, because indigenous organizations are now more vocal and there are a lot more campaigns.”
A small but fanatical group supports the treaty
It remains to be seen whether the advisory body will actually be established. The conservative opposition is running a “No” campaign. And this seems to be having an effect: opinion polls show that support for the advisory body has declined over the past 12 months. There is also criticism from the indigenous community. Indigenous Senator Lydia Thorpe calls the advisory board “helpless” and says it will “continue to fight for a treaty”. In the colonial era, no treaty was signed with the indigenous people, so they could not claim the land. Thorpe wants to correct that.
Boersbaum says the indigenous group advocating for the treaty is small but fanatical. “They fear that with a separate institute they will always remain a disadvantaged group. But the majority of the indigenous population, in my estimation, about eighty percent, support the advisory board.” Indigenous people make up about 3% of the population.
Boersbaum has worked as a cultural anthropologist and researcher in Arnhemland, an Aboriginal region in far northern Australia. In any case, recognition will come one day, he believes. “But no voice Myself, I’m still a bit of a fanatic about that. Social media will now also play a role in the referendum in Australia for the first time, so we’ll see how that plays out.
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Referendum to improve the status of Aboriginal people in Australia
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wants to enshrine the amendment in the constitution, so that there is no more debate about the position of the peoples who have traditionally inhabited Australia.
