Warren Mundine: Recognition and treaty go hand in hand

A treaty would need to be part of Australia's constitutional fabric in order to be successful, Warren Mundine tells The Point.

Indigenous Advisory Council Head Warren Mundine

Head of the Prime Minister's Indigenous Advisory Council, Warren Mundine. Source: NITV

Asked whether a treaty and recognition could work hand in hand, the Indigenous Advisory Council head replied: "Of course".

"We can chew gum and breathe at the same time," Mr Mundine said during a live interview with NITV's Stan Grant.

"The strength of treaties in Canada, the United States and New Zealand is they're part of the constitutional fabric of those societies.

"We need to have that as part of the constitutional fabric of our society as well - and when I say 'our' society, I'm talking about the other 22, 23 million other people in this country."

Watch Stan Grant's full interview with Warren Mundine:

Mr Mundine's comments follow a , where the majority of attendees spoke out against the Recognise campaign. 

Among those leading the discussion in the inner-Sydney suburb was Narrunga elder Tauto Sansbury, who argued that treaty should take precedence over recognition.

"We can talk about Recognise a little bit further down the track once we've got treaty," he said.

"I know that we've got (recognition) in our Constitution in South Australia and it's given us nothing in our present moment except rhetoric."

Treaty talks were placed firmly on the political agenda after a meeting in Victoria last month, at which a large group of Aboriginal representatives  the notion of Constitutional recognition.
Stan Grant
Source: The Point

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2 min read
Published 15 March 2016 10:18pm
By Ella Archibald-Binge
Source: The Point


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