What is your full name?
Carolyn Bateman
What is your postal code?
2540
Do you support recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by changing the Constitution or making some other kind of legal change?
Yes
Should we have a statement that acknowledges the First Peoples of Australia?
Yes. This should be in the Constitution.
Where is the best place to put it?
At the beginning
What should the statement say?
The statement should not only include that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people lived on the land when Europeans arrived but should also acknowledge that no Treaty was entered into and that great wrongs were done to these people by the European se
Should the word 'race' be taken out of the Constitution?
Yes
Should the Australian Parliament keep the power to make special laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?
Yes
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?
But this should be in an equal collaboration with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Do you have any other comments on powers to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?
That any law made for any minority or less represented group be made ensuring that there are representatives from those people to speak into the law as it is being developed.
Do you think that a guarantee against racial discrimination should go into the Constitution?
Yes
Do you have any ideas about what words to use for that guarantee, or where in the Constitution to put it?
That all people living in Australia respect the various cultures that make up our population, and that no group or culture should be discriminated against.
Should the guarantee protect all Australians against racial discrimination, or only Indigenous Australians?
All Australians
Do you think Indigenous people should have a say when Parliament and government make laws and policies about Indigenous affairs?
Yes
Should a new Indigenous group be set up under the Constitution to give advice and make sure Indigenous people have a voice in political decisions that affect them?
Yes
Is it worth creating the new group if it can only give advice and does not have the power to block new laws?
Yes
Should we delete section 25?
Yes
What would we achieve by getting rid of section 25?
Equity and a voice for all citizens.
Are you making a submission on behalf of a person (such as yourself) or organisation?
Individual