What is your full name?
James John Cox
What is your postal code?
2049
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?
The change should recognise the special status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as Australia's first peoples, and their relationship to the land itself. This should be in the preamble or otherwise in such a way that it is presented as a fundament
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?
In the preamble or otherwise early in the document to ensure that it is one of the foundational elements of the Constitution and of Australian Society.
What should the statement say?
It should state that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are Australia's first peoples, who had first sovereignty over this land.
Do you have any other comments on a statement about the First Peoples of Australia?
It really needs to be drafted and supported by the First Peoples themselves. The Constitution should not simply accomodate them - it should be a document that bears the fingerprints of all Australians.
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?
I don't know
Do you have any other comments on powers to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?
Basic principle: "Nothing about us without us." Their historical sovereignty, under international human rights law, gives our First Peoples the right to determine their own future within the context of Australian society. In other words, the Parliament sh
Do you think that a guarantee against racial discrimination should go into the Constitution?
Yes
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?
Establish a Bill of Rights, founded on International Human Rights Law.
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?
No
Do you have any ideas about what the new group would look like?
It should in some way represent the many countries that make up Indigenous Australia.
Do you have any other comments on this Indigenous group?
It will be a different form of political entity from anything seen in Australia before. It may work ways that don't sit comfortably with our present political practice. We will need to adapt, and in so doing forge a more authentically Australian way of go
Should we delete section 25?
Yes
What would we achieve by getting rid of section 25?
We would erase the lingering stigma that anyone could be perceived as a second class race.
Is there any point in keeping it?
No.
Do you have any other comments?
I want to emphasise the importance of Treaties. As has been demonstrated in consultations in Victoria and South Australia, there is a very strong view among Indigenous Australians that by itself, Constitutional recognition is meaningless. It does not addr
Are you making a submission on behalf of a person (such as yourself) or organisation?
Individual