What is your full name?
Edward Schindler Wright
What is your postal code?
6005
Do you support recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by changing the Constitution or making some other kind of legal change?
Yes
What should the change look like?
Acknowledgment of past wrongs (dispossession, mass murder by settlers and government representatives, racially motivated government policies), and of the existence of stable societies on the continent prior to white invasion.
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?
constitution
What should the statement say?
It should mention what I entered above.
Do you have any other comments on a statement about the First Peoples of Australia?
Edward
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?
No
Do you have any other comments on powers to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?
The constitution should be worded so that it acknowledges the wrong done to people living here before white settlement, without using terms such as race, as the term is fraught with problems.
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?
By using the word race, we enable racially-based dialogue to ensue. Race is an unstable concept. We should refer to 'people' and 'populations', who ought not be discriminated against according to religion, appearance or cultural and genetic heritage.
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?
No
Do you have any other comments on this Indigenous group?
There are already several bodies that can provide this advice.
Should we delete section 25?
Yes
What would we achieve by getting rid of section 25?
An accurate portrayal of what we as a nation believe, and what we as a nation want to be.
Are you making a submission on behalf of a person (such as yourself) or organisation?
Individual