A Referendum on Indigenous Constitutional Recognition – What are the Chances?
21 Pages Posted: 17 Apr 2012 Last revised: 21 Oct 2014
Date Written: April 15, 2012
Abstract
The Report of the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians was presented to the Prime Minister in January this year. It includes many recommendations for constitutional change as well as for the referendum process. The Panel is emphatic that ‘achieving a successful referendum outcome should be the primary consideration of the Government and Parliament.’ Despite this, the Report devotes surprisingly modest attention to the history of Australia’s referendums. From what we know of the record, however, the Report’s confidence that its recommendations ‘are capable of succeeding’ is questionable. This paper considers the record, and concludes that the government would be unwise to put the Panel’s recommendations - at least in their current form - to a referendum.
Keywords: Constitutional alteration, Indigenous recognition, Australian referendums
JEL Classification: K10, K30
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation