There is no ‘We, the people .....’ in the Australian constitution. It came into effect in 1901 and is seen as the birth certificate of a nation. There is no charter of human rights or ‘We hold these truths to be self evident ...’
Nothing at all which could be absorbed in primary school and recited.
The only mention of Aboriginal or Torres Straight Islander is to mention that they won’t be counted as part of the population. This was belatedly amended in 1967. They are now included in the count but there is no recognition that they were already here, that the land was inhabited, already occupied.
It isn’t a complicated document but it wasn’t until today that I read it.
It’s worth the read and although the powers of the Queen and her heirs are limited in everyday matters - make no mistake - if her appointed Governor General so chooses, should extraordinary conditions prevail which call into question the ability of the elected government to rule, he can dismiss the government. It has happened.
While he can dismiss the government and did so in 1975, the Queen, of course, could have refused her consent to the dismissal of our government. She didn’t. She allowed the dismissal and changed the course of Australia’s history.
She is not just a ceremonial figurehead. The pretence of not wielding power is exposed as a pretence if an elected government can be dismissed by someone who is, essentially, a foreign head of state.
It is not a complicated matter to change the constitution. A referendum is held in which the question at hand is put to a vote by the whole population. These questions seldom pass. They need a majority vote in all States and Territories.
So what does the Constitution say if it’s not about ‘We the people ...’ or human rights. It is the document which establishes our form of government to be composed of a representative parliament in which all the people vote for those representatives. Apart from that, it’s a bit dry and business like. It delineates the way in which government powers are divided between the Commonwealth of Australia and the various States. It delegates various powers to pass laws, to either State or Commonwealth ... setting out responsibilities for social welfare, taxation, education, the judiciary, the military forces and so on. It makes clear that discrimination in respect to religion is not tolerated.
We will have a referendum put before us all regarding the acknowledgement of the prior occupation of this land by the Aboriginal population. Quite how this will be worded is unknown until the consultation process is completed.
Our constitution is an unfinished document.
My interest in this matter is partly due to being at a ceremony, a few days ago - Australia Day. Something to celebrate - but not for all.
A beautiful clear day on the headland of a coastal town. Bands playing and a festive mood. The flag got raised with quiet ceremony and we all stood and sang the national anthem. New citizens were there, nervous, excited, dressed in their best, happy at the prospect of becoming Australian citizens.
It was lovely and it was a spectacle. Hundreds of people, in small and large family groups just enjoying the day. I saw no Aboriginals that day.
The following day I heard Noel Pearson, an Aboriginal leader, give an address in which he spoke with passion and clarity about the need for a Constitutional amendment recognising the fifty thousand years or so of Aboriginal occupation of this land and which preceded the two hundred years or so since the rest of us arrived.
What a thoughtful and generous spirit he displayed, no different to the generous spirit with which the Aboriginal people, as a whole, show to us while we treated them as less than human.
Not only does this proposed amendment matter to the Aboriginal people but it matters to me.
It is more than a symbolic matter just as ‘Sorry’ is more than just a word.