Everything You Need to Know About the Referendum to Recognise Indigenous Australians

Detailing how the Australian Constitution was drafted, this book shows how Aboriginal peoples came to be excluded from the new political settlement, and provides what Australians need to know about the proposal to recognize Aboriginal peoples in the Constitution. It explains what the 1967 referendum—in which more than 90 percent of Australians voted to delete discriminatory references to Aboriginal people from the Constitution—achieved and why discriminatory racial references remain. Close to 15 million people will cast their vote in the upcoming referendum (the date is to be announced) and need expert information that is clear and informed—as found in this book—allowing them to participate in the debate and make an informed decision. Written by two of the best-known experts in the country on matters legal, indigenous, and constitutional, the book shows the symbolic and legal power of such a change and how to get there.

Megan Davis is a professor of law; director of the Indigenous Law Centre, Faculty of Law; and a commissioner of the NSW Land and Environment Court. She is a UN expert member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples (state member), and a fellow of the Australian Academy of Law. George Williams is a lawyer and the Anthony Mason Professor of Law at the University of New South Wales. He is the author, coauthor, or editor of numerous books, including A Bill of Rights for Australia, A Charter of Rights for Australia, The Oxford Companion to the High Court of Australia, and People Power, and is a columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald.