On 21 May, Australians elected a new Federal Government, whose political mandate includes two On 27 May, at the start of National Reconciliation Week, the Queensland Government announced And then on 1 June, former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, the Hon Sir Francis Gerard However, for many Australians Sir Gerard will forever be known for his leading judgment in Mabo v In recording these beginnings and endings, the Journal takes this opportunity to express its support again I \u2026 express my support for the \u201cUluru Statement from the Heart\u201d. It is an eloquent, accurate and powerful The hope engendered by the new government\u2019s commitment to implement the Uluru Statement<\/em> must be It is often said that wide, if not unanimous, political support for a referendum question is a necessary Even in the absence of an official \u201cno\u201d case, there will be opposition. Proponents of the constitutional One example of opposition has already come from Northern Territory Country Liberal Senator-elect Neither the urgency of the issues raised by the Senator-elect nor her sincerity can be doubted. For example, the \u201cepidemic of violence\u201d against Indigenous women was highlighted in a rare judicial intervention by Justice Judith Kelly of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory. Her Honour\u2019s newspaper interview on the topic came at the end of National Reconciliation Week. (4)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Similarly, progress on reducing the overrepresentation of Indigenous Australians in prison is painfully One answer to concerns such as those expressed by the Senator-elect is that the project of dealing with the inequality and injustice still suffered daily by Indigenous Australians will be given both new focus and Mr Abbott was plainly correct about one thing when he wrote that \u201cour cohesion as a nation is too Significant as these developments may be, national reconciliation requires national action. The Uluru The most important political decisions almost always involve moral choices. The enduring recognition United States Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr once said that the aim of a law school It appears that the outcomes called for in the Uluru Statement<\/em> from the Heart may be edging closer History says, Don\u2019t hope<\/em>
matters which have been closely followed and supported in this column: a referendum to amend the
Constitution<\/em> to include the Voice to Parliament requested in the Uluru Statement from the Heart<\/em> (the
Uluru Statement<\/em>), and the creation of a federal anti-corruption body. While the new government has also
appointed an assistant minister for the republic, it has made clear that it is the implementation of the
Uluru Statement<\/em> that will be the focus of this term of office and that there will be no referendum on a
republic before the next federal election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the appointment of Mr Lincoln Crowley QC to the Supreme Court of that State. Mr Crowley QC, a
distinguished Crown prosecutor, is a Warramunga man and the first Indigenous Australian to be appointed to the Supreme Court of any State. This appointment is to be celebrated as a positive step in our country\u2019s story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brennan AC KBE QC died a few days after his 94th birthday. Sir Gerard was a lifelong advocate for
social justice, an advocacy which for him was inseparable from his deep Roman Catholic faith. His
special commitment to establishing and upholding the rights of Indigenous Australians was given
national public expression as long ago as 1974, when he represented the Northern Land Council in the
Woodward Royal Commission into Aboriginal Land Rights in the Northern Territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Queensland (No 2)<\/em>. (1) His passing was felt as especially poignant because the 30th anniversary of that decision fell only two days after Sir Gerard\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
for the full implementation of the Uluru Statement<\/em>: a Voice to Parliament enshrined in the Constitution<\/em>,
and a Makarrata Commission to supervise truth telling and agreement making between government and
Indigenous Australians. The Journal respectfully adopts this observation by the Hon Andrew Bell at his
7 March swearing in as Chief Justice of New South Wales:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
statement, which looks forward to \u201ca fuller expression of Australia\u2019s nationhood\u201d with great dignity. In the
spirit of the Uluru Statement, I acknowledge the regrettable reality that this nation\u2019s laws and legal system
have so often in the past delivered the opposite of justice to our indigenous people. (2)<\/p>– The Hon Andrew Bell, Chief Justice of New South Wales<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
tempered with the realisation that between now and any referendum much remains to be done. The terms of any proposed amendment to the Constitution<\/em> must be finalised. The government has reportedly been provided with a draft s 129 which has been prepared by constitutional law experts to create the Voice to Parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
prerequisite to its passage. There was no official \u201cno\u201d case for the 1967 referendum to amend ss 51(xxvi) and 127 of the Constitution and only three referenda of the successful eight have passed despite a
published \u201cno\u201d case. Much could therefore turn on whether the vote in Parliament on a referendum bill
will result in an official \u201cno\u201d case having to be put to the people with the \u201cyes\u201d case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
amendment will need to make their case. They may soon be assisted in doing so through the recently
announced partnership between the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and UNSW\u2019s Indigenous Law
Centre to create \u201cTowards Truth\u201d. This will be a database, publicly accessible through a website, bringing
together the often now hard to find laws and policies that have been applied to Indigenous Australians
over the nation\u2019s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jacinta Nampijimpa Price, a Warlpiri-Celtic woman. She has been reported as saying that critical issues
such as family and domestic violence, child sexual abuse, and education should be given priority over
any constitutional reform. (3)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
slow. However, some small good news came from a recent report by the New South Wales Bureau
of Crime Statistics and Research which compared outcomes for 151 Aboriginal young people who
participated in the Youth Koori Court with 2,883 comparable Aboriginal young people who proceeded
through the usual Children\u2019s Court process. (5) Youth Koori Court participants were 40% less likely to receive a custodial sentence compared to Aboriginal young people who were sentenced through the regular pathway. While the report found no statistically significant reduction in reoffending, Youth Koori Court participants who did re-offend were 84% less likely to receive a custodial penalty at re-conviction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
impetus by a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament. However, in addition to such matters, clear
and easily comprehensible explanations will need to be offered to meet already familiar arguments, most
recently rehearsed by former Prime Minister, the Hon Tony Abbott AC, such as that the Voice to Parliament will be a third legislative chamber or that it will entrench racial distinctions that should be eliminated. (6) Some of these arguments have already been authoritatively rebutted in the pages of the Journal. (7)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
important to be put at risk by a referendum that fails\u201d. In some States, implementation of treaty
negotiations and truth telling has already begun or is under active consideration. Victoria, for example,
has recently announced it will be establishing an independent treaty authority. (8)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Statement<\/em> lays out the two steps that a representative body of Indigenous Australians has identified
as essential for genuine reconciliation. The recent beginnings described in this column suggest that
the community is open to those steps being taken, including by having given a mandate to the new
Commonwealth Government to engage the necessary political and legal processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
of Indigenous Australians by providing for a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament is one such
decision. In providing the legal solution to achieve that result, good lawyers understand that there is an
inseparable moral dimension to their work. They should also be well equipped to provide the necessary
clear and persuasive arguments in favour of the measure, as much around the kitchen table and water
cooler as in op-ed pieces and social media posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
should be to make lawyers \u201cwise in their calling\u201d, noting that \u201cnearly all the education which men
can get from others is moral, not intellectual\u201d. (9) Sir Gerard Brennan was the epitome of a lawyer wise in his calling. One of his greatest legacies to the law is the corpus of judgments and speeches which demonstrate his lifelong adherence to the proposition that a strong moral compass is essential to the sound development of legal principle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
towards becoming realities. If that is so, then these lines by Seamus Heaney chosen by the Brennan
family for Sir Gerard\u2019s funeral notice are apt as both inspiration and challenge: (10)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On this side of the grave<\/em>.
But then, once in a lifetime
The longed-for tidal wave
Of justice can rise up,
And hope and history rhyme.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n