Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Indigenous Peoples and Constitutional Reform in Australia

Beyond Mere Recognition

  • Book
  • © 2024

Overview

Authors:
  1. Bede Harris

    1. School of Business, Charles Sturt University, Albury, Australia

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Addresses a topical issue – debate on Indigenous constitutional recognition
  • Presents a radical approach to the constitutional position of Indigenous people
  • Uniquely covers the constitutional history of Indigenous people and address sovereignty claims and Indigenous law

  • 5087 Accesses

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxiii
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Terminology, Values and Identity

    • Bede Harris
    Pages 1-40

  3. How We Got Here—The Reform Debate From 2010 to 2015

    • Bede Harris
    Pages 41-61

  4. Sovereignty and the Impact of Colonisation

    • Bede Harris
    Pages 63-85

  5. Treaty-Making and Its Limitations

    • Bede Harris
    Pages 87-118

  6. Self-determination and an Indigenous State

    • Bede Harris
    Pages 119-142

  7. Legal Pluralism

    • Bede Harris
    Pages 143-191

  8. Rights, Race and Culture

    • Bede Harris
    Pages 193-216

  9. The Voice to Parliament

    • Bede Harris
    Pages 217-250

  10. Indigenous Parliamentary Representation

    • Bede Harris
    Pages 251-267

  11. Summary of Reforms and the Way Forward

    • Bede Harris
    Pages 269-292

  12. Back Matter

    Pages 293-298
    Download chapter PDF
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

​This book examines whether Australia’s constitution should be reformed so as to enable the country to fulfil its obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which it ratified in 2009.  The book surveys the history of the constitutional status of Australia’s Indigenous peoples from the time of colonisation through to the current debate on ‘Indigenous constitutional recognition’. However, it argues that the term ‘Indigenous constitutional recognition', implying that mere acknowledgement of the existence of Indigenous peoples is sufficient to meet their legitimate expectations, misrepresents the nature of the project the country needs to engage in. 

The book argues that Australia should instead embark upon a reform programme directed towards substantive, and not merely symbolic, constitutional change.  It argues that only by the inclusion in the constitution of enforceable constitutional rights canthe power imbalance between Indigenous Australians and the rest of society be addressed.  Taking a comparative approach and drawing upon the experience of other jurisdictions, the book proposes a comprehensive constitutional reform programme, and includes the text of constitutional amendments designed to achieve the realisation of the rights of Australia’s Indigenous peoples.  It ends with a call to improve the standard of civics education so as to overcome voter apprehension towards constitutional change.  





Authors and Affiliations

  • School of Business, Charles Sturt University, Albury, Australia

    Bede Harris

About the author

Dr. Bede Harris is a Senior Lecturer and the Law Discipline Head at Charles Sturt University's School of Business. He possesses a notable academic trajectory, including a BA(Mod) from Trinity College, University of Dublin, an LLB (cum laude) from Rhodes University in South Africa, and a DPhil from the University of Waikato in New Zealand. His extensive teaching background encompasses institutions such as the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, the University of Waikato, James Cook University, and the University of Canberra. Dr. Harris specializes in Constitutional Law, particularly reform, Indigenous legal matters, Corporations Law, and Consumer Law. Notably, in 2001 Bede was awarded a Fulbright Senior Fellowship and attended the American Studies Institute held at the Meyner Centre for the Study of Government at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Indigenous Peoples and Constitutional Reform in Australia

  • Book Subtitle: Beyond Mere Recognition

  • Authors: Bede Harris

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-7121-3

  • Publisher: Springer Singapore

  • eBook Packages: Law and Criminology, Law and Criminology (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-981-99-7120-6Published: 02 December 2023

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-981-99-7123-7Due: 02 January 2024

  • eBook ISBN: 978-981-99-7121-3Published: 01 December 2023

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXIII, 298

  • Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Constitutional Law, Public Law, Human Rights, Governance and Government, History, general, Ethnicity, Class, Gender and Crime

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation