Australian premier calls proposed Indigenous referendum an ‘important reconciliation opportunity’

By Anadolu Staff

ANKARA (AA) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday said that the proposed referendum on constitutionally recognizing the country’s Aboriginal and Torres Island people is an “important opportunity” for his country to promote “reconciliation.”

"The proposal that will be before the Australian people would do two things. One, it would recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Australia's first peoples in our Constitution. Secondly, it would provide for them to be consulted on matters that affect them,” Albanese said in an interview with local Radio 2SM Sydney.

The main opposition Liberal Party has supported the recognition of Indigenous people in the constitution but opposes the establishment of an Indigenous consultative group to parliament, called the “Voice,” that will be decided in a referendum expected later this year.

Since the colonization of Australia by British settlers in 1788, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have faced hardships, ranging from the loss of traditional culture and homelands to the forced removal of children and denial of citizenship rights, according to the Australian Human Rights Commission.

"This history of injustice has meant that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have been denied access to basic human rights, such as rights to health, housing, employment, and education," it added.

The prime minister said: "We know that there’s big gaps in education, in health, in infant mortality, in incarceration rates, in so many areas between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia. And what the Voice would provide is the opportunity to make representations to the government of the day.”

Following Albanese's center-left Australian Labor Party's election victory in May last year, he announced that his government would include Indigenous peoples as original inhabitants in the constitution.

* Writing by Islamuddin Sajid