Premium
Settling on a national Indigenous Australian ‘voice’
Author(s) -
Chesterman John
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
australian journal of public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-8500
pISSN - 0313-6647
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8500.12462
Subject(s) - indigenous , negotiation , government (linguistics) , corporate governance , underpinning , settlement (finance) , context (archaeology) , public administration , political science , sociology , political economy , public relations , law , business , history , management , economics , engineering , finance , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , civil engineering , archaeology , payment , biology
This article argues that the call for establishment of a national Indigenous ‘voice’ ought to be seen by the Australian government in historical context, primarily as a call for remediation for historical injustices, not just as an opportunity for improvement in the lives and governance of Indigenous Australians. Viewed this way, the call carries with it an imperative for government both to recognise the moral weight underpinning it and to be active in seeking to settle the matter, either by agreeing to the reform proposal or otherwise by negotiating an acceptable outcome. The article closes by considering possible ways in which settlement might occur.