A referendum on indigenous constitutional recognition : what are the chances? / Helen Irving.

Sydney : The University of Sydney Law School 2012.

200043

United Nations. -- General Assembly. -- Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Human rights Australia.

Aboriginal Australians -- civil rights.

Aboriginal Australians -- Politics and government.

Constitutional law -- Australia.

The Report of the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians was presented to the Prime Minister in January this year. It includes many recommendations for constitutional change as well as for the referendum process. The Panel is emphatic that 'achieving a successful referendum outcome should be the primary consideration of the Government and Parliament.' Despite this, the Report devotes surprisingly modest attention to the history of Australia's referendums. From what we know of the record, however, the Report's confidence that its recommendations 'are capable of succeeding' is questionable. This paper considers the record, and concludes that the government would be unwise to put the Panel's recommendations - at least in their current form - to a referendum. - Abstract.

Includes bibliographical references.

1 online resource (20 pages) : digital, PDF