Howard+promises+indigenous+referendum

Sid Marris | //October 11, 2007// MR E Relgion II __John Howard tonight said the path to reconciliation, which had been vexed by special interests, false turns and unfulfilled ambitions, remained Australia’s biggest societal challenge.
 * AUSTRALIA****'S indigenous people would be given special status under the Constitution in the next term of a Coalition Government.**

He admitted he had got it wrong on reconciliation and has committed to a “new settlement”.__

Forty years after the referendum on indigenous equality and following the intervention in the Northern Territory earlier this year, Mr Howard said the rise of the indigenous responsibility agenda and the intellectual firepower which a new generation of indigenous leaders has brought to Australian politics had presented a new alignment of ideas that must be harnessed.

__“I announce that, if re-elected, I will put to the Australian people within 18 months a referendum to formally recognise indigenous Australians in our Constitution – their history as the first inhabitants of our country, their unique heritage of culture and languages, and their special (though not separate) place within a reconciled, indivisible nation,” he said.__

“My goal is to see a new Statement __of Reconciliation incorporated into the Preamble of the Australian Constitution.__ If elected, I would commit immediately to working in consultation with Indigenous leaders and others on this task.

“It would reflect my profound sentiment that Indigenous Australians should enjoy the full bounty that this country has to offer; that their __economic, social and cultural well-being should be comparable to that of other Australians.”__

Mr Howard said the preamble statement would be introduced into parliament within the first 100 days of a new government and would go to the people as a single question not “blurred or cluttered” or by other constitutional considerations.

The Prime Minister said he still __did not believe the “old” reconciliation agenda – which he described as creating a separate identity and left white people “off the hook” – was the right way.__

He __acknowledged__ he had __failed__ to live up to his own promise in 1998 for a new way forward by 2001.

“There have been low points when dialogue between me as Prime Minister and many Indigenous leaders dwindled almost to the point of non-existence. I fully accept my share of the blame for that. “I recognise now that, though emotionally committed to the goal, I was mistaken in believing that it could be achieved in a form I truly believed in. The old paradigm’s emphasis on shame, guilt and apologies made it impossible to reconcile the goal with the path I was required to tread.

“The challenge I have faced around indigenous identity politics is in part an artefact of who I am and the time in which I grew up.”

Mr Howard said he now saw the potential for __“a dignified and respectful reconciliation process”.__

“It is founded on the notion that __we are all Australians together__; bound by a common set of laws which we must all obey and from which __we are entitled to equal justice__.

“It rests on my unshakeable belief that what unites us as Australians is far greater than what divides us.”

__Mr Howard said that he remained a realist and an optimist and that “true reconciliation” meant delivering better lives for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.__

“In the end, my appeal to the broader Australian community on this is simpler, and far less eloquent. It goes to love of country and a fair go.

“__It’s about understanding the destiny we share as Australians__ – that we are all in this together.

__“It’s about recognizing that while ever our Indigenous citizens are left out or marginalized or feel their identity is challenged we are all diminished.__

“It’s about appreciating that __their long struggle for a fair place in the country is our struggle too."__