Michael Mansell supports Warren Mundine’s call for Treaty

Aboriginal lawyer Michael Mansell has supported Tony Abbott advisor Warren Mundine call for a treaty with Aborigines.

Mr Mundine was reported today in the Australian: “The head of Mr Abbott’s Indigenous Advisory Council, former ALP national president Warren Mundine, said indigenous Australians needed to “forgive Australia as a nation” and permit themselves to “love their country (and) take pride in Australia’s successes and achievement”.

In an Australia Day address in Melbourne, Mr Mundine also called for a treaty between Australia and each individual Aboriginal nation, and for Australian governments to automatically acknowledge these nations’ title, circumventing drawn-out native title cases.

“An indigenous nation which signs on to a treaty would receive formal recognition as a nation and as the traditional owners of a defined area of land and sea,” Mr Mundine said.”

Mr Mansell said a treaty could finally give Aborigines a land base by disposing of the costly and time wasting native title process that often takes many years and costs millions. “The treaty could designate certain vacant crown land to be once again Aboriginal owned.

The attraction of a treaty is that it does not require constitutional change. A treaty can simply be a piece of Federal legislation. That is how ATSIC was established- quickly, simply and painlessly.

I think Warren Mundine should re-think his local treaty idea. That would produce disparities in outcomes. The NT Aborigines would get far more than South Australian Aboriginals and WA blacks even less. I don’t think that is desirable.

Other topics that could be considered for a treaty is an Aboriginal Assembly with legislative powers, customary law and protection of Aboriginal culture and heritage”.
Michael Mansell, Secretary of Aboriginal Provisional Government and spokesperson Aboriginal Community Council (Tas)