Everything you need to know about the referendum to recognise indigenous Australians / Megan Davis & George Williams.
Publication details: Sydney : NewSouth, 2015.Description: vii, 165 pages ; 21 cmISBN:- 9781742234168
- 328.230994 23
Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item reserves | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Book | Melbourne Athenaeum Library | Non-Fiction | 328.230 DAV | Available | 058560 |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 148-158) and index.
1. The making of the Australian Constitution -- 2. The 1967 referendum -- 3. Dawn of a new era? -- 4. The path to the recognition referendum -- 5. What changes should we make to the Constitution? -- 6. Myths and misconceptions -- 7. Will the people vote Yes?
This book explains everything that Australians need to know about the proposal to recognise Aboriginal peoples in the Constitution. It details how our Constitution was drafted, and shows how Aboriginal peoples came to be excluded from the new political settlement. It explains what the 1967 referendum - in which over 90% of Australians voted to delete discriminatory references to Aboriginal people from the Constitution - achieved and why discriminatory racial references remain. With clarity and authority the book shows the symbolic and legal power of such a change and how we might get there. Concise and clear, it is written by two of the best-known experts in the country on matters legal, indigenous and constitutional. Recognise is essential reading on what should be a watershed occasion for our nation.