Australian voters’ divisions, indifference doom Indigenous referendum
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Upbeat polls and big-name endorsements greeted Australia’s referendum campaign for Indigenous reconciliation when it kicked off in earnest just seven months ago, raising hopes for a historic change to the constitution. But by the time votes were counted this weekend in the country’s first referendum in nearly 25 years, the proposal for a […]
Australian Indigenous leaders vow silence after landmark referendum defeat
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australian Indigenous leaders called on Sunday for a week of silence and reflection after a referendum to recognise the First Peoples in the constitution was decisively rejected by a majority of the population. More than 60 per cent of Australians voted “No” in the landmark referendum on Saturday, the first in almost a […]
Voting begins in Australia in landmark Indigenous Voice referendum
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australians began voting on Saturday in a historic referendum, the first in almost a quarter of a century, to decide whether to recognise its First Peoples in the constitution, as requested by the country’s Indigenous leaders six years ago. Australians will simply write “Yes” or “No” on the ballot paper, after a question […]
Analysis – Indigenous reconciliation at stake as Australia votes on the Voice
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Phone lines at 13Yarn, a national Indigenous helpline in Australia, are ringing off the hook. National Program Manager Marjorie Anderson’s team is receiving three times more calls each week from distressed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people, as the country prepares to vote on a landmark referendum on Saturday to recognise Indigenous people […]
More than 80 Australian Baptist leaders throw support behind ‘yes’ vote as referendum nears
Geelong, Australia More than 80 Australian Baptist leaders have signed a public letter supporting a ‘Yes’ vote in the upcoming referendum on the proposed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ‘Voice to Parliament’. The Baptist Leaders for Yes group, which published the letter on Friday, says the referendum “stands as a once in a generation opportunity to […]
Rio’s latest rock shelter damage highlights need for Aboriginal Voice, advocates say
Melbourne, Australia Reuters Damage caused to an Aboriginal rock shelter by mining giant Rio Tinto in August underscores the need for better heritage protection laws and a greater say for Indigenous groups promised in this month’s Voice referendum, advocates say. Rio admitted on 21st September to damaging a rock shelter on 6th August in Western […]
ESSAY: HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA RULES INDIGENOUS PEOPLE CANNOT BE DEPORTED AS ALIENS – BUT THE FIGHT FOR LEGAL RECOGNITION REMAINS
In an article first published on The Conversation, KATE GALLOWAY and MELISSA CASTAN, associate professors of law at two Australian universities, respond to this week’s High Court of Australia ruling…