Reconciliation needs a referendum and a treaty

Professor George Williams says, “Australia stands apart. It is now the only Commonwealth nation that does not have a treaty with its Indigenous peoples.” What’s more, “the Australian Constitution was drafted to deny Aboriginal people their rights and their voice,” and “the Constitution still recognises that people can be discriminated against because of their race. It may be the only Constitution in the world that now permits this.” If we are to have true reconciliation, he argues, we need to amend the Constitution and negotiate a treaty with Australia’s Indigenous peoples.