Representative democracy
Key ideas:
- Overview of Indigenous politics in the context of the Northern Territory;
- Indigenous political rights.
The right to representation
Many Indigenous Australians have campaigned for specific representation in the Parliaments. In the 1930s and 1940s the Australian Aborigines' League and the Aborigines Progressive Association campaigned for Parliamentary representation for Indigenous people and sought to petition the King and the Federal Government to further their cause. When the Government did not respond, 26 January 1938, the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet, was declared a `Day of Mourning' and a protest was held in Sydney. That event has been described as the 'identifiable beginning of the contemporary Aboriginal political movement', and 'the first national Aboriginal civil rights gathering'.
Exercise
Only a very small number of Indigenous people have been elected to any Australian Parliament over the years. None of the main political parties represented in the Commonwealth Parliament have internal affirmative action programs or quotas for ensuring that Indigenous Australians are preselected to contest elections. There are currently no special measures in place within Australia's constitutional and electoral system to promote the election of Indigenous Australians to Commonwealth, State and Territory Parliaments.
Can you think of any Indigenous people who have been elected to Federal Parliament?
Indigenous political parties
There have also been a number of Indigenous political parties that have contested seats during elections including the Australian Indigenous Peoples' Party, the Aboriginal United Party, and the Torres United Party.
Voter education and support for Indigenous voters (such as mobile polling) have enabled Indigenous people to participate in the Australian political processes. There has been some discussion about whether special seats should be created for Indigenous Australians in Federal, State and Territory Parliaments and there are many arguments both in favour and against such a proposal. Those in favour claim that:
- Indigenous peoples are the prior owners and occupiers of the land; reserved
seats do not create a precedent for other groups to claim special representation;
- Liberal democratic theory recognises that community life and culture may foster the pursuit of positive human values.
Those against the idea claim that:
- Indigenous Australians have often not given their first preference vote
to Indigenous candidates in electorates where Indigenous and non-Indigenous
candidates have stood, suggesting identity politics (voting for people you
identify with culturally) is not the dominant consideration for many Indigenous
voters;
- If there were only a few Indigenous seats, Indigenous Members of Parliament would not have the numbers to influence Parliamentary voting.
While there has been an increase in the number of Indigenous people in State and Territory Parliaments, Indigenous representation at the national level is still very small. Therefore, the question as to whether special seats should be created for Indigenous Australians in Federal, State and Territory Parliaments is still a valid issue.
Reflection
What do you think?
Should there be special representation for Indigenous people in the Federal Parliament? You might like to explain your thoughts on this idea in the Learnline Discussion Board.