… and scathing of ‘no-show’ Aboriginal leadership

Michael Mansell said the national meeting of 25 influential Aboriginal leaders who met in Melbourne at the weekend called for ‘a broadening out of the discussion on constitutional recognition beyond the three proposals for a preamble or body to comment on legislation or anti-discrimination being placed inside the constitution’. Delegates included lawyers, CEO’s, the Co-Chair of Congress of First Nations Peoples, former ATSIC Commissioners, former Reconciliation Councillors, authors, young people from Warriors of Aboriginal Resistance and elders.

Mr Mansell said the 25 people who came from Queensland, NSW, ACT Victoria and Tasmania ‘doubted that mere words in a preamble would be acceptable to Aboriginal people. There seemed little support for it at this meeting. Time and again the topic of treaty arose in discussion, as did community control of services, land rights and native title reform. While the meeting made no final position on anti-discrimination or a body to comment on legislation, people felt other topics were more useful and more relevant to Aboriginal people and should be considered in the upcoming summits.

The meeting was also concerned that the government might try to hijack the community meetings by preventing discussion on broader issues that are important. There is already fear the Prime Minister has contacted Aboriginal people to sit on his Constitutional Council without first listening to how Aboriginal people prefer the meetings to proceed. We suspect they will be hand-picked to do the government’s bidding.

The government must stay well aside from the Aboriginal meetings. At least one Aboriginal from each State and Territory should be on the organising committee. They must not be hand-picked by government.”

Mr Mansell was also scathing of the ‘no-show’ by members of the Aboriginal delegation who spoke with the PM last Thursday. “We invited all or any one of them to brief us. They did not even have the courtesy to tell us they were not coming. They just did not show up.

At the drop of a hat, these delegates can race from one side of the country to the other to meet with government yet find every excuse under the sun to ignore Aboriginal meetings. The no-show was a bad start to community involvement and is bound to add to the suspicion that this whole process of community input will be stage managed.”
Michael Mansell Secretary, Aboriginal Provisional Government