Recognition: Patrick Dodson and Noel Pearson unite for cause

Two of the nation’s most powerful Aboriginal leaders have moved to wrest control of the recognition process.

Two of the nation’s most powerful Aboriginal leaders have moved to wrest control over the constitutional recognition process, formally requesting that the government fund and support a series of indigenous conventions that would unite the Aboriginal community.

The partnership between Yawuru elder Patrick Dodson and Cape York Institute director Noel Pearson comes as indigenous leaders warn that if a sense of Aboriginal ownership over the referendum process is lost, constit­utional recognition would be a waste of time.

READ DODSON & PEARSON’S LETTER

In a letter to Tony Abbott this week, Mr Dodson and Mr Pearson lay out a road map for constit­utional recognition in contrast to that which was proposed by the Prime Minister and Bill Shorten last week after a high-level bipart­isan summit attended by 40 indig­enous representatives.

The letter, co-signed by ­National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples co-chair Kirstie Parker and public law professor Megan Davis, states that “any model for our recognition should be developed with our genuine input and taken to a referendum with our agreement”.

At the conclusion of last week’s summit at Kirribilli, Mr Abbott and the Opposition Leader proposed the establishment of a referendum council and suggested a series of community conferences be held in advance of a question being drafted by the middle of next year. After the summit, Mr Abbott said he had “heard the need for a national discussion involving all Australians”.

He has said he would like to see a referendum held in 2017 to coincide with the 50th anniver­sary of the 1967 referendum. But this week’s letter from the four Aboriginal leaders says that “an independent process for indigenous people to reach a position is crucial if we are to ­ensure indig­enous support for a model”.

“Without a proper indigenous process, a referendum council and community conferences will be unlikely to produce the necessary engagement and understanding among indigenous Australians to arrive at the reasonable consensus,” the letter says. “We cannot proceed to a ­referendum without knowing where indigenous people stand.”

The alliance between Mr Dodson and Mr Pearson marks an important step in consensus-building among the Aboriginal leadership, which is united in a sense of shared purpose despite a variety of strongly held, divergent positions on recognition models.

Mr Dodson backs a racial non-discrimination clause in the Constitution, while Mr Pearson has argued such a clause would attract the fatal opposition of conservatives. The Cape York leader has instead proposed a constitutionally mandated indig­enous advisory body that would scrutinise legislation, together with a declaration of recognition.

In a joint opinion piece published in The Weekend Australian today, Mr Dodson and Mr Pearson argue “it would be wiser to prioritise clarity and consensus within indigenous Australia ­before going to mainstream conferences”. “Any model for con­st­itutional recognition of indigenous Australians should be developed with genuine indig­enous input and taken to a referendum with the wholehearted agreement and backing of indigenous people,” they write.

“If it does not have indigenous support, why would the nation proceed with a referendum?”

Mr Pearson has been scathingly critical during the past fortnight of the predetermined nature of the political leaders’ agreement on the way forward on recognition, and the way it contrasted sharply with the desires put forward by the Aboriginal leadership at the meeting.

In Mr Dodson’s and Mr Pearson’s alternative road map to recognition, a series of indigenous conferences to be held as soon as possible would be followed by a national indigenous convention attended by nominated delegates. The process would then move to broader community consultations, and finally, a diplomatic process between indigenous representatives and political leaders so that multi-party agreement on a model to take to a referendum can be achieved.

The leaders have asked for urgent discussions with commonwealth bureaucrats, requesting the indigenous conventions be publicly funded.

The partnership between Mr Dodson and Mr Pearson comes after years in which the pair — ­giants on the land rights stage — barely spoke to one another. The alliance has injected hope and greater determination across the indigenous leadership to work towards consensus on recognition.

“Nothing floats unless Patrick is involved and leading it,” Mr Pearson told The Weekend Australian. “I think if we ask the question who is the key player in all of this, I would have to say Patrick. He is the linchpin person.”

Mr Dodson said his talks with Mr Pearson held after last week’s summit had been “constructive”.

“No doubt Noel and I have ­different views on some matters but I think we are both interested in getting the best thing for Aboriginal people, and how that might be achieved by enabling the people themselves to grapple with the complexities of these issues and decide for themselves what their views are,” Mr Dodson said.