In the context of the Federal Government's commitment to hold a referendum to recognise Indigenous Australians in the Constitution, this research brief considers some of the potential options for Indigenous-related reform. The Indigenous Law Centre is conducting a research project looking at reform of the Australian Constitution concerning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The...

December 2010 marks the tenth anniversary of the Final Report of the Council of Aboriginal Reconciliation and the culmination of the formal reconciliation process. It is timely therefore to reflect on how far we have come on the reconciliation journey. The report, Are We There Yet?, calls on governments to advance their commitment to ‘resetting’...

With the support of the Telstra Foundation and the Australian Research Council, RMIT researchers investigated the role and significance of Indigenous cultural festivals in wellbeing outcomes for Indigenous communities and their young people. They found that festivals really do matter to communities; from a proliferation of very small events celebrating local community life, to complex...

Highlighting the socioeconomic benefits of cultural land management, this paper discusses two NSW Aboriginal groups that are engaging Aboriginal people in looking after their country. Banbai Business Enterprises manages the first Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) in New South Wales, ‘Wattleridge’, on the New England Tablelands north east of Guyra, and is now also managing a...

Australians are ready for a debate about updating Australia's Constitution, but it is only likely to lead to change if people are engaged with the process. The results focus on the prospects for successful referenda on Indigenous recognition and local government recognition in the next three years -- as recently promised by the Federal Government...