The Changes to the Constitution

A new Chapter IX, titled Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, will be added and

A new Section 129, titled Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, will be inserted into this Chapter

The purpose of the Section is to:

1. Legally proclaim that people defined as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the First Peoples of Australia: and

2. That a body defined as the 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice' (The Voice) may, for matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, make representations directly to the Commonwealth Parliament and or to the Executive of that Government; and

3. Extends the authority of Parliament beyond the existing Clause 9, Part IV, Section 51 (xxvi) powers to make special laws for people of any race but now also including, for The Voice's

  • composition,
  • functions,
  • powers and
  • procedures.
    • Commentary

    Clause 6 of the current Constitution contains the only defined terms in the document and these are limited to the terms

  • the commonwealth
  • the states and
  • original states.

    • There is no intention to define what is to be meant by the terms

  • Aboriginal people
  • Torres Strait Island people
  • First people or even
  • of Australia

    • This will be left to parliament.

    But it is worth understanding that the portion of the Great Southern Continent was, when Admiral Phillip, in 1788, named the slice he took possession of for King George IV, New South Wales, then known internationally as New Holland.

    The name Australia first appeared in legislation on 9th July 1900 in the Imperial Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act.

    So the ‘First Peoples of Australia’ where those present in this land mass on 9th July 1900.

    Thats about 3.7 Million People of which at least *10,113 were of Aborignal desent

    (*See Census 1911- p905)

    So subsection 1 is factually incorrect.

    I think what perhaps may have been intended was to assert that ALL the people living in New Holland in 1788 were ALL relatives of the FIRST Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) to colonize the Sahul continent.

    The problem here though is that the science is still NOT settled that their was a once only group of AHM that colonoized this continent before the British arrived.

    The archaeologists believe that AHM FIRST colonized this land mass 65,000 years ago but cannot determine linage. The geneticists, using DNA from current decendents of aboriginals in Australia and Papua are prepared to say their ancestors FIRST separated from the each other only about 40,000 years ago. - [Ref]

    So these are incongrous

    First Nation of Australia

    First Nation of Americas

    PLUS it is worth noting this DNA findings is based on a program done 7 years ago using DNA from just 105 decendents - (25 Papuan Aborignal and 83 Australians Aborignal), specially selected, when at that time the population of Australians claiming aboriginal heritage was around 800,000 and Papua's Population was about 1 Million [Sample size 0.006%]

    And then of course there is the problem of using the term "First People" when incorporated with Torres Strait Islanders as the scientists at this time, place the arrival of the Austronesian Torres Strait Islanders at about 3,500 years ago.

    That was when this land mass had already sustained substantial populations of the other earlier AMH's before global warming turned these areas into islands.

    The best title you could hope for the Torres Strait Islanders group is “Second Peoples” and possibly Fifth?

    Interested in knowing more See FirstNation