On Tuesday the government will present its latest implementation plan for Closing the Gap. Which provides a major test for the government as it prepares the next steps after the referendum.
Despite the best of intentions, the prime minister’s determination to take Australians to a referendum on the Voice to Parliament has caused tremendous damage.
The decline in support for the Voice after initial strong polling demonstrates settlers are resistant to the idea of Indigenous peoples as a collective subject entitled to a unified Voice.
Laurel Fox, The University of Queensland; Dani Linder, The University of Queensland, and Graeme Orr, The University of Queensland
Despite all the arguments flying around the Voice offers one simple thing: a long overdue way for Indigenous consensuses to develop and find their rightful place in national politics.
Kat Taylor, Australian National University; Anne Poelina, University of Notre Dame Australia, and Quentin Grafton, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
In the struggle against aqua nullius, Indigenous people’s right to make decisions about water on Country is a priority.
Sacred trees are a cornerstone of our national identity. They transcend simple economics and sit at the centre of the sacred — sentinels in ceremony, birthing and burials.
These issues matter to our strategic allies, particularly in the Pacific. Dutton’s climate change scepticism and attitudes toward First Nations people could have a damaging effect.
It’s a devastating loss, but the destruction of a culturally significant Aboriginal site is not an isolated incident. Rio Tinto was acting within the law.
We have welcomed the opportunity to guide the co-design process because we feel this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to recast how decisions are made in Indigenous affairs.
It would be another miracle if the Morrison government managed to have a referendum passed to give Australia’s Indigenous people constitutional recognition.
Ken Wyatt’s promise of a referendum on constitutional recognition within three years marks a dramatic shift from the Turnbull government’s rejection of the Uluru Statement of the Heart.
Ken Wyatt on constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians
The Conversation, CC BY27 MB(download)
Ken Wyatt says he is "optimistic about achieving [constitutional recognition] because...Australians will generally accept an opportunity to include Aboriginal people" and that he will work with "naysayers".