Indigenous peoples’ human rights, self-determination and local governance – Part 2

Ed Wensing

doi:10.5130/cjlg.vi25.8025

Abstract

Part 1 of this article explored the relevance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia, particularly the key principles of self-determination and free, prior and informed consent; how the international human rights framework applies in Australia; and Australia’s lack of compliance with it. Part One concluded by discussing the Uluru Statement from the Heart, presented to all the people of Australia in 2017, and how it marked a turning point in the struggle for recognition by Australia’s Indigenous peoples. Part 2 explores recent developments since the release of the Uluru Statement, especially at sub-national levels, in relation to treaty and truth-telling. It draws some comparisons with Canada and New Zealand, discusses the concept of coexistence, and presents a set of Foundational Principles for Parity and Coexistence between two culturally distinct systems of land ownership, use and tenure.

Highlights

Introduction – coexistence and land The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ grievances with the Australian nation have been summarised by Professor Mick Dodson, a Yawuru man from Broome in the Kimberley region of Western Australia and Australia’s first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, as follows: 1
To reinforce its independence from the Victorian government, the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria (FPAV) is a company limited by guarantee. It has developed its own constitution (FPAV 2019) and a governance framework about decision-making and the respective roles of the members, 6 The South Australia government embarked on treaty negotiations in February 2017, before the release of the Uluru Statement, as part of its commitment to building a better and stronger relationship with Aboriginal people
As Lino (2018, p. 68) observes, minimalist proposals for recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia’s Constitution have been about “including a symbolic, unenforceable reference”, this being “the model promoted by the Howard Government18 and enshrined within all six State Constitutions”

Summary

Introduction

Introduction – coexistence and land The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ grievances with the Australian nation have been summarised by Professor Mick Dodson, a Yawuru man from Broome in the Kimberley region of Western Australia and Australia’s first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, as follows: 1. The Uluru Statement represents a major turning point in Australia’s national conversation about First Nations’ rights precisely because it sets out Indigenous peoples’ outstanding grievances, and invites the Australian people to engage with them through treaty and truth-telling.

Results

Conclusion