3. Social Justice Policies and Equity

3.4. Sovereignty, a Treaty - Benefits and Challenges

There are as many benefits as there are challenges in achieving Sovereignty and the formation of a Treaty for Aboriginal peoples. The key benefits being: 

  • Support for true self-determination 

  • recognition and respect for Indigenous rights and culture as set out by Indigenous peoples themselves 

  • Permanent Aboriginal representation body in government 

  • formal acknowledgement that Indigenous peoples in Australia have never  relinquished any part of their sovereign status 

  • help to officially re-write the false history fed to generations of non-Indigenous Australians and the international community 

Sovereignty is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as:  Supreme power or authority, such as ‘the sovereignty of Parliament’ 

Other synonyms include: jurisdiction, supremacy, dominion, power, ascendancy, suzerainty, tyranny, hegemony, domination, sway, predominance, authority, control, influence, rule. 

As you can see there are a range of similar words here which include both positive and negative connotations. 

Aboriginal lobbyists are pushing for a treaty as they believe that this will give Aboriginal peoples more power over their own affairs. This is a seemingly logical conclusion. There will need to be some very careful negotiations to ensure that Aboriginal peoples do not lose benefits that the current system offers (welfare, healthcare, legal representation and support etc.) which is a very real risk. 

 

Challenges may include: 

  • Coming to agreement on what is sought – not all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people agree with the idea of a treaty  

  • Difficult to find agreement on the type of treaty and what it should include 

  • Backlash from the ‘right wing’  

  • Fear of losing things that have been so hard fought for already and the loss of benefits of being citizens of the commonwealth 

  • Could lead to unwanted division – separate rights