Will the Declaration Make Any Difference to Australia’s Treatment of Aborigines?

Abstract

The Aboriginal Provisional Government (APG) believes the entitlements of Aboriginal peoples derive from previous exclusive rights to the country, and that the status of Aboriginal entitlements is to be seen accordingly. The expression of those rights has been disrupted by the invasion and subsequent building of the illegitimate Australian nation. The APG holds that the full extent of Aboriginal rights places Australian Aborigines alongside other nations of the world, not subordinate to any of them. This article discusses how the fundamental values that make up Australia are based on the belief of white supremacy, and how that notion is likely to ensure the Declaration does not become part of domestic law. However, there are other avenues Aboriginal people can use to agitate for change, both within Australia and to international bodies. All it takes is action and ideas, and the knowledge that much can be done.