►Moving Towards Reconciliation

Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians

The Government has established an expert panel to progress the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution to be voted upon at a referendum to be held during this Parliamentary term or at the next Federal Election.

Constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians is an important step towards building a nation built on strong relationships and mutual respect, and the Government is keen to have Indigenous communities in Lingiari and all over Australia have their voices heard during the consultation process.

Maintaining the Racial Discrimination Act

The Labor Government has delivered on its commitment to re-instate the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (RDA) in the Northern Territory.

The suspension of the RDA by the previous Government left Indigenous people in Lingiari feeling hurt, betrayed and less worthy than other Australians. Re-instating the RDA restores dignity and helps Indigenous Australians to take ownership of their lives and to drive change in the Northern Territory. It also ensures that measures under the NTER are sustainable and can be effective in the long term.

The RDA will apply to the new non-discriminatory income management scheme when it comes into effect on 1 July 2010, and will be fully restored for existing measures from 31 December 2010 once transitional arrangements are finalised and the reforms have been implemented. The measures were re-designed following extensive consultations with communities in Lingiari.