Constitutional Reform

As Chairperson of APY Law and Culture, I have written to the Referendum Council to say the Tjilpis are insulted that the Referendum Council did not respect protocol and procedure before they called a meeting for discussion on having Anangu/Aboriginal people all over Australia included in Australia's Constitution. We, the Traditional Owners for Uluru and Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara country argue that our Law is the Law of the Land in this part of the world and not the whiteman law. We know we have been controlled by the whiteman law because we didn't have enough warriors and clever Lawmen who can take the fight up to these people who occupy our lands illegally.

The Referendum Council has been having invitation-only dialogue meetings with Aboriginal people across Australia which we called 'secret meetings' because only selected First Nations people were allowed to attend and many Tribes and Nations were not represented.  Now we find that there is an additional 'Invitation-Only' meeting in Canberra. First Nations people who have been seeking a voice for the 'NO' vote have discovered this meeting in Canberra on Wednesday 10 May 2017, because as it was poorly advertised many people do not know about it, so are unable to attend.

Ghillar, Michael Anderson, stresses that to ban First Nations people from attending Referendum Council Dialogue meetings cannot be construed as true deliberative democracy, with their denied right to be fully informed and to contribute their point of view in a process that will affect our children's children inheritance and sovereign status.
Ghillar provides a video critique of legal advice regarding the impact of the referendum on First Nations sovereignty, from Professors Megan Davis and George Williams ...

Isobelle Anderson of the Kirjin Nation in Far North Queensland has made an official complaint to June Oscar AO, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait and Islander Social Justice Commissioner, regarding the way the Referendum Council is conducting their Regional Dialogue meetings and called the whole process a 'circus'    ...   'To make a complaint to the Ombudsman in Canberra, I have to lodge a complaint with the Commonwealth Agency first. I cannot do this because they will not allow me to ...'   

'We do need to understand who is running the Referendum Council, which is now trying to distance itself from the failed Recognise and Reconciliation campaign for the constitutional inclusion of the words 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders'. This engine room they call the 'Referendum Council' must be urgently scrutinised. Who are these people and what are their backgrounds?' - Ghillar, Michael Anderson provides an overview of the deceit by our own people who are being led by a government with a treacherous agenda.

The regional meetings set up by the Referendum Council have been a farce. The 'Delegates' were hand-picked and without any representative election process. Their selection didn't meet western democratic standards or First Nations' protocols. The aim of these meetings has proven to be what many expected, a total whitewash. Anyone with alternative opinions or ideas were unable to speak or even record the events. However SU Volunteers monitored the proceedings at the Sydney meeting and provide their comprehensive report here.

Report on Sydney Referendum Council's invitation only meeting at Rooty Hill RSL. The Referendum Council's push for constitutional inclusion and 'Recognition' of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders is not premised on obtaining the free prior and informed consent of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, whose lives and cultures will be significantly impacted upon. They have engaged a frontline of uninformed, ignorant and disrespectful Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander public servants, while the white bureaucrats pull strings in the background.

Copy of Sovereign Union Letter (and document) delivered to the United Nations in New York to the Secretary General of the United Nations by Ghillar, Michael Anderson on 16 June 2016. The summary of the 40 page attached document named 'Dare to be wise: Decolonisation underpins the Sovereign Treaties processes in contrast to 'Recognise' which fosters assimilation' is included here along with a link to a pdf copy of the entire document.

For millennia there existed, settled laws and customs and ancient social practices have stood the test of time on the continent named 'Australia' by the invaders ... This, under international law, confirms our ability as Aboriginal Nations and Peoples to argue the Act of State doctrine, which is now vehemently expressed when dealing with sovereign inherent rights to govern. Mabo confirms this assertion by us as First Nations Peoples, because as the majority judgement says that Aboriginal Peoples' rights to property have survived the British sovereignty assertion.

It is time that the members of this newly formed Referendum Council focus their attention on conducting true and meaningful discussions with the grassroots communities. There is a desperate need to have town hall meetings to hear the reasoning of the opposition's position to First Nations people being included in the Australian Constitution.
It is our inherent right to choose our own national identity, our own political and economic affiliations, and to exercise our freedoms. To be denied this is a clear violation of all Human Rights.