Consitutional indigenous recognition not top priority, says Wesley Aird

WESLEY Aird says recognising indigenous Australians in the Constitution is not the most pressing issue for his people.

CONSERVATIVE indigenous adviser Wesley Aird says recognising indigenous Australians in the Constitution is not the most pressing issue for his people, and he fears the campaign will distract from bigger concerns.

In an opinion piece in The Weekend Australian today, Mr Aird says the most pressing issues are education, employment and safety in the communities.

“It’s not whether we are recognised in the preamble or the body of our Constitution. Nor is it the race provisions in the body of the document,’’ he says.

“Right now, as it has remained for decades, the most pressing ­issues facing indigenous Australians are getting our children to school, the parents to work and to make our communities safer”.

He argues that while symbolism has its place, it can “only take us so far unless there are solid achievements to match. For indigenous Australians the national story is big on symbolism but very light on results”.

Millions of Australians invest huge amounts of emotional ­energy into indigenous affairs every year for what always ­appears to be a great cause.

“Yet while each grand gesture comes and goes in its turn, ­indigenous people continue to ­endure consistently unacceptable social indicators of disadvantage,’’ he says. “It seems we are only capable of doing one thing or the other. As a nation we are simply not able to walk and chew gum at the same time.”

He supports minimalist constitutional recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: “I do not support grand gestures that might detract from immediate and substantial improvements in education, employment and community safety”.

“I fear there is a limited store of goodwill from everyday Australians when it comes to indigenous affairs,’’ he says. “The feel-good campaigns allow mainstream Australians to assuage their conscience and feel good but too often that’s as far as it goes.”

Faced with choosing between the symbolic or the practical campaign, we should ask which will be better for Australia in 10 years.

“Objectively the imperative is to fix indigenous education and employment, whether by Andrew Forrest’s suggestions or some other way,’’ he writes. “When we are well and truly on the path to overcoming indigenous disadvantage we could try for minimalist constitutional recognition.”