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Do not be deceived by the Recognise movement
by Philip Winzer (Ngarabul)
T
he YouMeUnity/Recognise movement, heavily funded by the Australian Government and supported by many supposed leaders of our people is deceiving our people into believing their rights will be recognised and protected by change to the Australian constitution. They tell us that this change is what we want, and that it is an important step to reconciliation. However, the change that they are proposing is not what we want, and is not what I believe most of the First Nations people who are asking for constitutional change believe it will be. For example, here is what the governments of the Yolngu and Bininj nations actually asked for from the Australian government (as part of a larger statement of intent outlining a clear pathway for the future for their nation, and which is now being claimed by YouMeUnity/Recognise as evidence of First Nations “Support” for their change): “Work towards constitutional recognition of our prior ownership and rights, in the near future.” That sounds great - just the sort of change that will pave the way for a treaty and a future together as a nation based on the truth and justice for our peoples. The constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia will formally recognise that our people owned their land before colonisation (and there being no deeds of sale, therefore still own it) and had rights as sovereign nations before colonisation (and those rights having never been ceded by treaty, still have them). Do not be deceived! This is not
what is being proposed. There is no proposal to change the constitution to recognise that the entire landmass of the continent of Australia was legally and absolutely owned by the original nations that were here, and has never been legally ceded by them, and there is no proposal to recognise that our people had rights attached to that ownership as sovereign nations. Do not let the wool be pulled over your eyes! This is what is being proposed: “Remove Section 25 – which says the States can ban people from voting based on their race;
Remove section 51(xxvi) – which can be used to pass laws that discriminate against people based on their race; Insert a new section 51A to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and to preserve the Australian Government’s ability to pass laws for the benefit of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; Insert a new section 116A, banning racial discrimination by government; and Insert a new section 127A, recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages were this Page 1
country’s first tongues, while confirming that English is Australia’s national language.” So what would this section 51A and Section 127A look like? This is the wording that has been passed by Parliament: “(1) The Parliament, on behalf of the people of Australia, recognises that the continent and the islands now known as Australia were first occupied by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. (2) The Parliament, on behalf of the people of Australia, acknowledges the continuing relationship of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with their traditional lands and waters. (3) The Parliament, on behalf of the people of Australia, acknowledges and respects the continuing cultures, languages and heritage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.” That’s it. It has no legal effect, and it does not affect any questions of land ownership or title to sacred sites and songlines. It will give no control over our affairs to our people. It will mandate no political voice or influence for our nations. What will it do? It will push the important questions back off the agenda. It will ingrain in the Constitution the supposed “right” of the Commonwealth Government (given to them by our people who supported this) to make laws “for the benefit” of our people. This might sound like a good thing, but remember, the Intervention was “for our benefit”, the Aboriginal Protection Act was “for our benefit”, child removals were “for our benefit”, welfare is “for our benefit”; stolen wages and slavery were “for our benefit”. Our people have a clear choice. Continue advocating for these poisoned crumbs from the master’s table, or start standing up for your rights as a free human being and a citizen of a sovereign nation that was here thousands of years before colonisation.
Tanya Hosch, deputy director for You Me Unity, the movement to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in the constitution. Image supplied by You Me Unity.
Mandate the Australian Government to make laws “for your benefit”, or assert the right of your people to determine what is for their benefit and make decisions for themselves. Embed welfare dependency and reliance on the Government to make race-based laws “for your benefit” as part of the Constitution, or assert your right to provide for yourself and your family and create an economic future from the country of your ancestors. Agree that your ancestors merely “occupied” their country with a “special relationship” to it, or assert that they were, and you continue to be, people of the land, owners under international law. Allow Australia to “acknowledge and respect” your culture, while not giving you title to sites that are central to that culture, or stand up for your birthright and the protection of all sites sacred under your law and an essential part of
you continuing to practice that culture. I am just like most of you - not a leader or an elder, just a citizen of the Ngarabul nation who genuinely wants the best possible future for my children and all of my people; a First Nations person who wants to keep the culture and identity of my ancestors alive and strong. I implore you all to think very carefully about what this means for the future of your people. If enough of us stand up and say, “No! We do not consent to this deception and stealing of our birthright by sleight of hand,” then we can stop it, and we can bring the real issues to the forefront of Australia’s attention. Or, you can let substandard rights for your people be permanently written into the very fabric and constitution of the nation of Australia. The choice is yours, brothers and sisters.