Discussion paper response

Mr Jesse John Fleay
What is your full name?
Mr Jesse John Fleay
What is your postal code?
6056
Do you support recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by changing the Constitution or making some other kind of legal change?
Yes
What should the change look like?
It is time for Australia to live up to the true cause of the will of her people, over that of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, her Heirs and Successors. The sovereignty of these First Nations, inhabited by the oldest continuing cultures on Earth, is now a
Should we have a statement that acknowledges the First Peoples of Australia?
Yes. This should be in the Constitution.
Where is the best place to put it?
The preamble must be rewritten, to exclude the Crown and establish the sovereignty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
What should the statement say?
WHEREAS the people of Australia united under a Republic, by the will of the people, their Constitution is hereby established: Be it therefore enacted by the people who are equal by virtue of their humanity - represented by an elected President - by and w
Do you have any other comments on a statement about the First Peoples of Australia?
A referendum must be held to call this Republic into legal validity
Should the word 'race' be taken out of the Constitution?
Yes
Should the Australian Parliament keep the power to make special laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?
No
Do you have any other comments on powers to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?
To create legislation for any people in Australia, no constitutional provision or interpretation should be necessary; if Australia is to promote equality before the law, all people must be equal by virtue of their humanity in the constitution. Legislation
Do you think that a guarantee against racial discrimination should go into the Constitution?
Yes
Do you have any ideas about what words to use for that guarantee, or where in the Constitution to put it?
All people, who are equal by virtue of their humanity, are free to express their culture, and any prejudicial treatment based on their natural born diversity, is an affliction to the principle of human equality, as established in the constitution
Should the guarantee protect all Australians against racial discrimination, or only Indigenous Australians?
All Australians
If there is not enough support for a guarantee in the Constitution, what other things can we do to stop racial discrimination in national laws?
The equality of all people before the law, by virtue of their humanity, applies to all Australians and would be rightly supported by the people
Do you have any other comments on changing the Constitution to stop racial discrimination?
In order that all people are treated fairly, we must promote the equality of all people before the law, and take a national stand against the prejudicial treatment of people based on their natural born diversity
Do you think Indigenous people should have a say when Parliament and government make laws and policies about Indigenous affairs?
Yes
Should a new Indigenous group be set up under the Constitution to give advice and make sure Indigenous people have a voice in political decisions that affect them?
Yes
Is it worth creating the new group if it can only give advice and does not have the power to block new laws?
Yes
Do you have any ideas about what the new group would look like?
As previously outlined in the reworking of the preamble, an elected President may receive advice from a national council of elected Elders from all First Nations of Australia
Do you have any other comments on this Indigenous group?
The council of Elders would only have limited power: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can and will continue to be democratically elected to parliament, proudly carrying their identity and culture, in a constitutionally equal Australia
Should we delete section 25?
Yes
What would we achieve by getting rid of section 25?
We would be completely modernising our entire constitution in one final move
Is there any point in keeping it?
There was never any ethical humanist point of such a law: it is repugnant to any democratic society and it must be removed in order that our Republic is fully democratic
Are you making a submission on behalf of a person (such as yourself) or organisation?
Individual