Uluru Statement from the Heart
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On the 13th February 2008, then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd moved a motion of Apology to Indigenous Australians. His apology was a formal apology on behalf of the successive parliaments and governments whose policies and laws "inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians". Two years later in 2010 Prime Minister Julia Gillard established the Expert Panel on the Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in the Constitution, beginning a renewed national focus on finding a path towards a referendum. In 2011 the Expert Panel was tasked with reporting to Government on the options for constitutional change and approaches to a referendum that would be most likely to obtain widespread support across the Australian community. They engaged with fellow Australians in conversations that took place in communities, towns and cities across the country and which, gave the Panel invaluable insights into how people from many backgrounds and walks of life want to see their sense of nationhood and citizenship reflected in the Constitution. This report outlines recommendations that includes substantive change to the Constitution, that recognize the true status of First Australians and that removes racial discrimination from the document. In January 2012 the Report was completed please refer to the link via the button below.
