John Howard introduced 'Constitution Recognition' to slash Aboriginal Sovereighty
Oct 04, 2016, 05:11 AM
Former PM John Howard announced the idea of Recognition in 2007 because he was worried about the fact that Aboriginal people still maintained their pre-existing and continuing sovereignty over First Nations' territories, lands waters and natural resources.
This was originally bought to his attention some years earlier when PM Robert Menzies, a hero of Howard's, tabled the facts in parliament that then government doesn't have the power to make laws for Aboriginal people, but probably triggered by the outcome of Australia's High Court finding in the Mabo No2 case that Aboriginal Sovereignty wasn't ceded by the British Invasion
In 18th October 2007 Johyn Howard announced on ABC PM ABC:
This was originally bought to his attention some years earlier when PM Robert Menzies, a hero of Howard's, tabled the facts in parliament that then government doesn't have the power to make laws for Aboriginal people, but probably triggered by the outcome of Australia's High Court finding in the Mabo No2 case that Aboriginal Sovereignty wasn't ceded by the British Invasion
In 18th October 2007 Johyn Howard announced on ABC PM ABC:
"I announce that if I am re-elected, I will put to the Australian people within 18 months a referendum to formally recognise Indigenous Australians in our Constitution, their history as the first inhabitants of our country, their unique heritage of language and culture, and their special, though not separate, place within a reconciled indivisible nation.
My goal is to see a new statement of reconciliation incorporated into the preamble of the Australian Constitution.
If elected, I would commit immediately to working in consultation with Indigenous leaders and others on this task."
Soon after NLP lost the election Labor jumped on it anyway and introduced Constitution Recognition with millions spent by the government and large corporations on the Recognition 'R' campaign.
This eventually failed to convince a majority of Aboriginal people so a government funded 'Referendum Council' led by a non Indignous friend of John Howard's, Mark Leibler. Liebler co-chair of the Referendum Council was sitting behind the scenes at the yulara Convention where the Uluru Statement was cooked up.
John Howard's 'Recognition' statement was made during the same period of government when he watered down the Rights in Native Title (quote:'bucket loads of extinguishment'), opposed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, strongly opposed a Treaty, refused to apologise to the 'Stolen Generation', and introduced the Northern Territory Intervention. Howards government also shut down ATSIC without replacing it with any form of a self-determination process.
Soon after NLP lost the election Labor jumped on it anyway and introduced Constitution Recognition with millions spent by the government and large corporations on the Recognition 'R' campaign.
This eventually failed to convince a majority of Aboriginal people so a government funded 'Referendum Council' led by a non Indignous friend of John Howard's, Mark Leibler. Liebler co-chair of the Referendum Council was sitting behind the scenes at the yulara Convention where the Uluru Statement was cooked up.
John Howard's 'Recognition' statement was made during the same period of government when he watered down the Rights in Native Title (quote:'bucket loads of extinguishment'), opposed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, strongly opposed a Treaty, refused to apologise to the 'Stolen Generation', and introduced the Northern Territory Intervention. Howards government also shut down ATSIC without replacing it with any form of a self-determination process.