Aboriginal people and The Australian Constitution

Aboriginal people are mentioned twice in the Australian Constitution firstly in Section 51(xxvi) and secondly in section 127. 51. The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to:- (xxvi) The people of any race, other than the aboriginal race in any State, for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws. Clause 51 was included in the Constitution to provide control over groups of people from specific ethnic groups should the Parliament see fit to do so by means of special legislation; i.e. in times of war where it may be envisioned large groups of refugees or other people may come ashore or enter the country; where such legislation would take precedence to the extent of any inconsistency over state laws on the same subject. It is important to understand aboriginals were specifically excluded because they are of a distinct race as the case with many foreign nationals; and by making mention of them in this way; it was sort fit to protect them as belonging to, and as being part of the Australian Continent where they are free to migrate and come and go as they please as has been their pleasure for hundreds if not thousands of years. 127. In reckoning the numbers of the people of the Commonwealth, or of a State or other part of the Commonwealth, aboriginal natives shall not be counted. Note: Statistics given by Quick & Garran at the time of Federation attempted to estimate the aboriginal population within the Commonwealth; the figures; it was conceded; for most states where inaccurate; given this; it would be easy to hypothesise that to attempt to include statistics of members of the aboriginal population because of their nomadic existence; at this time; would have been a difficult undertaking where nothing would be achieved by doing so in terms of the nature of their subsistence way of life juxtaposed against what Parliament legislated for with respect to the lifestyle of most Europeans living in the Country at the time. Times have now changed; the percentage of Aboriginal men and women who have sort fit to adopt a more centralised way of life has greatly increased where links to the customs of their past is maintained by pockets of Aboriginal people living at remote locations who are easily accounted for and in many cases have exercised the benefits of European style business interests with regard to commercialising aspects of their art and culture. In the understanding the Constitution sets out both the structure and framework of our Government; serving to regulate how laws are made; how the various branches of Government interact with each other; how various constraints are placed upon those branches; and the relationship of the Parliament to the States; it can be seen; to recognise the aboriginal people as being the original inhabitants of our land within the Constitution would add nothing to it in terms of its purpose as a regulator of the function of Government. As can be seen; the aboriginal people have already been acknowledged in recognising their ties to the continent in Section 51 by expressly preserving their right as original inhabitants to move as they please and be largely left alone.