Newsletter date: 15 February 2013
Contents:
* Sovereign Union serves the Crown with formal objection to the Act of Recognition
* Sovereign Union: Open Letter to the Governor-General: Sovereign Treaty not the Act of Recognition
* NIRS: Sovereignty campaigner disappointed by Act of Recognition passing
* Background to the Aboriginal sovereignty movement
* Congress: Congress calls for hard yards on substantive Constitutional reform
* Background to National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples
* News on Act of Recognition passing Lower House
* SOVEREIGN UNION SERVES THE CROWN WITH FORMAL OBJECTION TO THE ACT OF RECOGNITION
- Media Release
Sovereign Union: Sovereign Union serves the Crown with formal objection to the Act of Recognition
http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/sovereign-union-serves-crown-...
13 Feb 13: "Aboriginal Sovereign Union diplomat Graham Merritt, speaking today from Parliament House Canberra said:
"Today is an historic moment, when on behalf of the Sovereign Union I am serving the Crown via the Governor General Quentin Bryce and the Commonwealth Government of Australia with our formal objection to the Act of Recognition.
"This Act of Recognition is a sleight of hand, as the Crown and Government continue to bypass proper recognition of our continuing Sovereignty. The Commonwealth Government is using the reform process to attempt to bring Sovereign Aboriginal Nations and Peoples into the Constitution of a foreign illegal occupying force."
"Now that the Crown and Commonwealth Government have the Sovereign Union’s written objections they cannot claim ignorance of the significance of our Sovereign position, nor do they have the free, prior and informed consent of Aboriginal Nations and Peoples to usurp our sovereignty." ... "
* SOVEREIGN UNION: OPEN LETTER TO THE GOVERNER-GENERAL: SOVEREIGN TREATY NOT THE ACT OF RECOGNITION
- Open Letter
Sovereign Union of First Nations and Peoples in Australia:
Open Letter
Dear Governor-General,
Re: Sovereign Treaty not the Act of Recognition
[scroll down page] http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/sovereign-union-serves-crown-...
13 Feb 13: "Please find attached Act of Sovereign Union that has been endorsed and adopted by several and various nations within Australia.
Correspondence between us, the Queen of England, Prime Minister Ian Cameron of UK and his Parliament, which was responded to by the British Foreign Office confirmed to us that there has never been any form of Treaty, Compact or arrangement that signified that Aboriginal Nations and Peoples around this nation have ever ceded their sovereignty to England during and after British invasion in 1788, nor is there any evidence that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have ever acquiesced to the current Australian system after the establishment of the various State legislatures nor to the Federal government after Federation in 1901. ...
Sincerely, Michael Anderson, Convenor, Sovereign Union of First Nations and Peoples in Australia"
* NIRS: SOVEREIGNTY CAMPAIGNER DISAPPOINTED BY ACT OF RECOGNITION PASSING
- News
National Indigenous Radio Service: Sovereignty campaigner disappointed by Act of Recognition passing
http://www.nirs.org.au/news/latest-news/7840-sovereignty-campaigner-disa...
13 Feb 13: "Brisbane-based Indigenous rights campaigner Wayne Wharton says Indigenous constitutional recognition in its current proposed form isn't compatible with sovereignty. The Federal Government today successfully passed the Act of Recognition, ... Wayne Wharton says any recognition of Indigenous people in the Constitution must be along tribal lines. Mr. Wharton says he's not concerned sovereignty isn't on the Government's agenda because it's a discussion the Australian public needs to have, not politicians."
* BACKGROUND TO THE ABORIGINAL SOVEREIGNTY MOVEMENT:
Last updated: 12 February 2013
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-the-aboriginal-sovereig...
* CONGRESS: CONGRESS CALLS FOR HARD YARDS ON SUBSTANTIVE CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM
- News
Congress: Congress calls for hard yards on substantive Constitutional reform
http://nationalcongress.com.au/congress-call-for-hard-yards-on-constitut...
"Congress welcomes the passage of the Act of Recognition in the Federal Parliament but says the hard yards in achieving substantive Constitutional reform are now just beginning. "Today is the first test of multi-partisanship leadership, now all parties must continue to work together to achieve a referendum involving substantive reform not just symbolic recognition," said Congress Co-Chair Jody Broun. "Congress calls for Constitutional reform that protects rights and prohibits discrimination. "We now expect clear commitments from all sides of politics to a referendum time-frame and the concrete steps required to make it happen," she said."
* BACKGROUND TO NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AUSTRALIA'S FIRST PEOPLES:
Last updated: 5 May 2012
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/05/background-to-the-national-congress-o...
* NEWS ON ACT OF RECOGNITION PASSING LOWER HOUSE
- News
National Indigenous Radio Service: Act of Recognition passes Lower House
http://www.nirs.org.au/news/latest-news/7837-act-of-recognition-passes-l...
13 Feb 13: "The Federal Government has this morning succeeded in passing the Act of Recognition through the House of Representatives. Prime Minister Julia Gillard told Parliament the Act provides the pathway to recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in the Constitution. "In difficult and volatile times, we have not yet found the settled space in our national conversation to make the promised referendum a reality."
newsTracker: Lower house passes recognition bill
http://tracker.org.au/2013/02/lower-house-passes-recognition-bill/
13 Feb 13: "NATIONAL: Parliament has taken the next steps towards constitutional reform, passing the Act of Recognition on the fifth anniversary of the national apology to the Stolen Generations. The lower house passed the legislation that will create an Act of Recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Prime Minister Julia Gillard described the bill as a promise and an act of preparation and anticipation for a referendum."
Koori Mail: CLC backs Recognition Bill
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
13 Feb 13: "THE Central Land Council has welcomed bipartisan support for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Recognition Bill 2012, passed in the House of Representatives this morning. CLC CEO David Ross says it provides hope that a referendum on constitutional recognition of Indigenous peoples could succeed and 'carry Australia into a more modern era of race relations'. Mr Ross said he believed constitutional recognition would have a profound and positive effect on Indigenous people all over Australia."
- Media Release
Greens Rachel Siewert / Christine Milne: Act of Recognition an important marker on the road to constitutional change
http://rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au/content/media-releases/act-recogn...
http://christine-milne.greensmps.org.au/content/media-releases/act-recog...
13 Feb 13: "The Australian Greens welcome the passage of the Act of Recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as a major stepping stone towards a referendum on the Constitutional Recognition of Australia's First Peoples. ...
[Senator Rachel Siewert:] "It is important to remember that the consequences of the action taken against the Stolen Generations continues to affect our community today, and will continue to do so into the future. This is why the Greens have a Private Member's Bill to ensure compensation for the Stolen Generations.
"As such, it is important to ensure that we do not settle for Acts of Parliament and instead continue to work towards investments to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
"In particular, I today call on the Government to provide ongoing funding for the Healing Foundation, who are undertaking incredibly important work with members of the Stolen Generation. Such a commitment would provide important material support to assist those who continue to suffer as a result of the policies of previous Governments." Senator Siewert said. ... "
- Audio
The Wire: Kevin Rudd meets with Stolen Generations five years after Apology
Produced by Lisa Burns
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=10017
13 Feb 13: "Today has been a historic day for Indigenous Australians. The House of Representatives have passed an Act of Recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, pre-empting a future Constitutional Referendum. This coincides with with the 5th anniversary of former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's apology.
Featured in story:
* Kevin Rudd, Former Prime Minister of Australia
* Christine Jacques Doolan, South Australian Representative, Stolen Generations Alliance"
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