Power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Section 51 is the part of the Constitution that lets the Australian Parliament make national laws about different matters, like tax and welfare.

Section 51 is the part of the Constitution that lets the Australian Parliament make national laws about different matters, like tax and welfare. Some words in section 51 give the Australian Parliament the power to make special laws for the people of any race.

This is called the race power. The race power lets the Australian Parliament make special laws about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. One idea is to get rid of the race power from section 51 and put new words in a different section of the Constitution.

The new words would give the Australian Parliament the power to make specific laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Another similar idea is to get rid of the word race from section 51. New words could then be added to section 51 to give the Australian Parliament the power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The new words would not be based on race, but on the unique status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Question 1: Do you support recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by changing the Constitution or making some other kind of legal change?

Question 2: Should the Australian Parliament keep the power to make special laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?

Question 3: Do you have any ideas on what new words could be used to describe that power, or where in the Constitution to put the power?

Read comments

Pardon my ignorance, but would replacing the word "race" with "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's" then permit discrimination based on race for people of other ethnic groups. I was thinking about how President Trump recently moved to ban people from certain countries from living in USA?
Liza geddes
Mon, 17/04/2017 - 12:52
The Aboriginal people of Australia should make their own constitutional decsisions over land they have redeemed through native title when it comes to mining or other exploitation. The government of the day should not be able to make decisions on their behalf as if they are ignorant children. We need to include Indigenous land rights & legal recognition in an Australian constitution.
James Bogdan
Mon, 17/04/2017 - 00:21
Excellent response
Jeanette Armstrong
Sun, 16/04/2017 - 08:51
One law for everybody.
lyle croft
Sat, 15/04/2017 - 11:54
I don't support special laws. One law for all.
Jeff Mathieson
Fri, 14/04/2017 - 15:03
1. No. I already recognise them as fellow citizens. Anything else would be racist.2.No. They are Australians like us.3. I think the power is racist, and should not exist at all in the constitution or in any law.
If we make laws that only pertain to certain racial groups, then by definition we have just legalised discrimination. This has been tried many times by many nations over history, the result....... Failure of the law. Treat people equally, it's just not that hard!!
this will only cause more division. One nation under 1 flag. if the Aboriginal and Torres straight people have not integrated by now bad luck.
Daryl Tranter
Thu, 13/04/2017 - 00:43
The answer to Q 1& 2 is NO. Australia is one country and there can only be one set of Laws for ALL its people. To create a separate set of Laws for 1 ethnic or cultural group is simply divisive and separate the intended group from everyone else, leading to further inequality between groups.Q 3 is premature. This question presupposes the answer to Q1 & 2 is yes and by including it here indicates that the debate is complete and a forgone conclusion anticipating or dictating the result of the Referendum.
It is purely racist and gives superiority to one race over another. I agree with Daryl Tranter. No race owns any part of Planet Earth and those who assume they do must be war-mongers and threatening war with such a mentality.
Excellent response
Rather than an "ethnic" group within the mainstream hegemony, ATSI culture and society is autonomous and that should be reflected in the constitution. Attempts at assimilation via dependency or other more overt control methods have not been successful at eliminating this fact. Therefore, ATSI autonomy should be acknowledged in the constitution.
Rather than an "ethnic" group within the mainstream hegemony, ATSI culture and society is autonomous and that should be reflected in the constitution. Attempts at assimilation via dependency or other more overt control methods have not been successful at eliminating this fact. Therefore, ATSI autonomy should be acknowledged in the constitution.

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