Mansell Condemns ALP for Ignoring Aboriginal Senate Seats Proposal

Media release – Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania, 18 August 2023

MANSELL CONDEMNS NATIONAL ALP CONFERENCE FOR IGNORING ABORIGINAL SEATS IN PARLIAMENT

Chair of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Land Council, Michael Mansell, has strongly condemned the national ALP conference for failing to support six designated Aboriginal seats in the Senate as a means of empowering Aboriginal people. Instead, the conference supported an increase in the number of senators from the two Territories.

Mr. Mansell said, “Here was a golden opportunity for the ALP to make meaningful sharing of power with Aboriginal people. Instead of a token advisory body, six designated indigenous seats (one from each of the 12 allocated to each state) could have given Aboriginal real access to the decision-making table, and an opportunity to use democracy to bring about changes for Aboriginal people. Instead, the ALP conference pushed Aboriginal empowerment aside to further entrench domination of Aborigines by a system where a minority is sidelined.

All that is needed for six designated seats in the Senate is an amendment to the commonwealth electoral laws. No referendum is needed. Albanese has the numbers to make the necessary amendments. There are 5 Māori seats in New Zealand, Bolivia has 7 reserved indigenous seats and even the State of Maine in the US has reserved Indian seats.

I suspect the Federal government’s commitment to the Voice to Parliament has stifled any hope of the ALP conference considering indigenous seats. One criticism of the referendum proposal is that for the last 16 years the dominant indigenous agenda is the Voice, so much so that no other alternatives can get past the door. It seems the whole ALP conference delegates are content to sideline any real chances of indigenous empowerment.”