130215 – Sovereign Union serves the Crown with formal objection to the Act of Recognition

* Sovereign Union serves the Crown with
formal objection to the Act of Recognition
* Sovereign Union: Open Letter to the Governor-General:
Sovereign Treaty not the Act of Recognition
* NIRS: Sovereignty campaigner disappointed by
Act of Recognition passing
* Background to the Aboriginal sovereignty movement

* Congress: Congress calls for hard yards on
substantive Constitutional reform
* Background to National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples

* News on Act of Recognition passing Lower House

* SOVEREIGN UNION SERVES THE CROWN WITH
FORMAL OBJECTION TO THE ACT OF RECOGNITION

– Media Release

Sovereign Union:
Sovereign Union serves the Crown with
formal objection to the Act of Recognition
http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/sovereign-union-serves-crown-formal-objection-act-recognition
13 Feb 13: “Aboriginal Sovereign Union diplomat Graham
Merritt, speaking today from Parliament House Canberra said:
“Today is an historic moment, when on behalf of the
Sovereign Union I am serving the Crown via the Governor
General Quentin Bryce and the Commonwealth Government of
Australia with our formal objection to the Act of
Recognition.
“This Act of Recognition is a sleight of hand, as the
Crown and Government continue to bypass proper recognition
of our continuing Sovereignty. The Commonwealth Government
is using the reform process to attempt to bring Sovereign
Aboriginal Nations and Peoples into the Constitution of a
foreign illegal occupying force.”
“Now that the Crown and Commonwealth Government have the
Sovereign Union’s written objections they cannot claim
ignorance of the significance of our Sovereign position,
nor do they have the free, prior and informed consent of
Aboriginal Nations and Peoples to usurp our sovereignty.”
… ”

* SOVEREIGN UNION:
OPEN LETTER TO THE GOVERNER-GENERAL:
SOVEREIGN TREATY NOT THE ACT OF RECOGNITION

– Open Letter

Sovereign Union of First Nations and Peoples in Australia:
Open Letter
Dear Governor-General,
Re: Sovereign Treaty not the Act of Recognition
[scroll down page] http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/sovereign-union-serves-crown-formal-objection-act-recognition
13 Feb 13: “Please find attached Act of Sovereign Union
that has been endorsed and adopted by several and various
nations within Australia.
Correspondence between us, the Queen of England, Prime
Minister Ian Cameron of UK and his Parliament, which was
responded to by the British Foreign Office confirmed to us
that there has never been any form of Treaty, Compact or
arrangement that signified that Aboriginal Nations and
Peoples around this nation have ever ceded their
sovereignty to England during and after British invasion
in 1788, nor is there any evidence that Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Peoples have ever acquiesced to the
current Australian system after the establishment of the
various State legislatures nor to the Federal government
after Federation in 1901. …
Sincerely, Michael Anderson, Convenor,
Sovereign Union of First Nations and Peoples in Australia”

* NIRS: SOVEREIGNTY CAMPAIGNER DISAPPOINTED BY
ACT OF RECOGNITION PASSING

– News

National Indigenous Radio Service:
Sovereignty campaigner disappointed by
Act of Recognition passing
http://www.nirs.org.au/news/latest-news/7840-sovereignty-campaigner-disappointed-by-act-of-recognition-passing
13 Feb 13: “Brisbane-based Indigenous rights campaigner
Wayne Wharton says Indigenous constitutional recognition in
its current proposed form isn’t compatible with
sovereignty. The Federal Government today successfully
passed the Act of Recognition, … Wayne Wharton says any
recognition of Indigenous people in the Constitution must
be along tribal lines. Mr. Wharton says he’s not concerned
sovereignty isn’t on the Government’s agenda because it’s
a discussion the Australian public needs to have, not
politicians.”

* BACKGROUND TO THE ABORIGINAL SOVEREIGNTY MOVEMENT:

Last updated: 12 February 2013

http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-the-aboriginal-sovereignty-movement-and-the-aboriginal-tent-embassies

* CONGRESS:
CONGRESS CALLS FOR HARD YARDS ON
SUBSTANTIVE CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM

– News

Congress:
Congress calls for hard yards on
substantive Constitutional reform
http://nationalcongress.com.au/congress-call-for-hard-yards-on-constitutional-reform/
“Congress welcomes the passage of the Act of Recognition in
the Federal Parliament but says the hard yards in achieving
substantive Constitutional reform are now just beginning.
“Today is the first test of multi-partisanship leadership,
now all parties must continue to work together to achieve
a referendum involving substantive reform not just symbolic
recognition,” said Congress Co-Chair Jody Broun.
“Congress calls for Constitutional reform that protects
rights and prohibits discrimination. “We now expect clear
commitments from all sides of politics to a referendum
time-frame and the concrete steps required to make it
happen,” she said.”

* BACKGROUND TO NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AUSTRALIA’S FIRST PEOPLES:

Last updated: 5 May 2012

http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/05/background-to-the-national-congress-of-australia%E2%80%99s-first-peoples

* NEWS ON ACT OF RECOGNITION PASSING LOWER HOUSE

– News

National Indigenous Radio Service:
Act of Recognition passes Lower House
http://www.nirs.org.au/news/latest-news/7837-act-of-recognition-passes-lower-house
13 Feb 13: “The Federal Government has this morning
succeeded in passing the Act of Recognition through the
House of Representatives. Prime Minister Julia Gillard told
Parliament the Act provides the pathway to recognition of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in the
Constitution. “In difficult and volatile times, we have not
yet found the settled space in our national conversation to
make the promised referendum a reality.”

newsTracker: Lower house passes recognition bill
http://tracker.org.au/2013/02/lower-house-passes-recognition-bill/
13 Feb 13: “NATIONAL: Parliament has taken the next steps
towards constitutional reform, passing the Act of
Recognition on the fifth anniversary of the national
apology to the Stolen Generations. The lower house passed
the legislation that will create an Act of Recognition for
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Prime Minister
Julia Gillard described the bill as a promise and an act of
preparation and anticipation for a referendum.”

Koori Mail: CLC backs Recognition Bill
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
13 Feb 13: “THE Central Land Council has welcomed
bipartisan support for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Peoples Recognition Bill 2012, passed in the House
of Representatives this morning. CLC CEO David Ross says it
provides hope that a referendum on constitutional
recognition of Indigenous peoples could succeed and ‘carry
Australia into a more modern era of race relations’. Mr
Ross said he believed constitutional recognition would have
a profound and positive effect on Indigenous people all
over Australia.”

– Media Release

Greens Rachel Siewert / Christine Milne:
Act of Recognition an important marker on the road to
constitutional change
http://rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au/content/media-releases/act-recognition-important-marker-road-constitutional-change
http://christine-milne.greensmps.org.au/content/media-releases/act-recognition-important-marker-road-constitutional-change
13 Feb 13: “The Australian Greens welcome the passage of
the Act of Recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Peoples as a major stepping stone towards a
referendum on the Constitutional Recognition of Australia’s
First Peoples. …
[Senator Rachel Siewert:] “It is important to remember that
the consequences of the action taken against the Stolen
Generations continues to affect our community today, and
will continue to do so into the future. This is why the
Greens have a Private Member’s Bill to ensure compensation
for the Stolen Generations.
“As such, it is important to ensure that we do not settle
for Acts of Parliament and instead continue to work
towards investments to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples.
“In particular, I today call on the Government to provide
ongoing funding for the Healing Foundation, who are
undertaking incredibly important work with members of the
Stolen Generation. Such a commitment would provide
important material support to assist those who continue to
suffer as a result of the policies of previous
Governments.” Senator Siewert said. … ”

– Audio

The Wire: Kevin Rudd meets with Stolen Generations
five years after Apology
Produced by Lisa Burns
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=10017
13 Feb 13: “Today has been a historic day for Indigenous
Australians. The House of Representatives have passed an
Act of Recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples, pre-empting a future Constitutional
Referendum. This coincides with with the 5th anniversary
of former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s apology.
Featured in story:
* Kevin Rudd, Former Prime Minister of Australia
* Christine Jacques Doolan,
South Australian Representative, Stolen Generations Alliance”