Aborigines demand a voice in Australia’s parliament

ABORIGINAL leaders in Australia have made a plea for a treaty and a formal “voice” to be enshrined in the constitution after outlining their demands in a historic “statement from the heart”.

A three-day convention in the centre of the country at Uluru, formerly known as Ayers Rock, the 250 delegates called for a referendum to change the constitution to “empower our people and take a rightful place in our own country”.

Australia is the only Commonwealth country in which the indigenous people do not have a formal treaty.

For several years, successive governments in Australia have floated the possibility of holding a referendum to include recognition in the constitution of the Aboriginal people.

But delegates rejected a merely symbolic gesture and demanded that they be given a “First Nations Voice”, offering Aborigines a recognised voice in parliament. The convention also called for the establishment of a truth-telling commission to examine the past treatment of Aboriginal people.

“When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish,” said the statement.

The convention came 50 years after Australians voted in a referendum to include Aboriginal people in the census – a move widely seen as finally recognising Aborigines as equal citizens.