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?
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