## A Change of Heart and Mind

### The Way Ahead

##### Jeff McMullen

The most important word missing from the Australian Constitution is Custodianship. It is a word of strength and beauty that can unify us and bind us to the ideal of what it means to be Australian.

Custodianship is a central concept of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and gives every one who lives in this land a responsibility to contribute to the balance of life. Custodians will look after this land and all its people for countless generations to come. This valuing of all life, respect for all creatures, connects past, present and future. It unifies the descendants of the world's oldest continuous Cultures with the newer arrivals from more than 230 other places. The land owns us all. Australia is our home.

This is Indigenous knowledge. If we imbue this wisdom in the Referendum question and ultimately in the changes to the document that guides our nation, we will offer respect and recognition to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Instead of mere words, built on English Common Law concepts, we will embrace as a nation an intellectual concept that is infused with meaning for all who live here. Our foundation stone is then uniquely Australian.

Our is a nation founded on Custodianship. All of the Our is a nation founded on Custodianship. All of the new Constitution might begin… people of this land are equal and free.

This is a vision of a greater sense of nationhood because Custodianship is based on the common good, genuine equality and responsibility.

While Custodianship is not one of the seven ideas offered to us by the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians, some of its members and the Australian Government have encouraged me to share this idea. I deeply believe that it best expresses what the Old People tell me as I listen carefully to those I respect around this country. So many times the elders have heard promises and even been moved by the sincere words of the National Apology. But very little has changed. To close that space between us it is more than mere words and legal concepts these wise elders are seeking. For each one of us the recognition must be written in the head and the heart in a form that implicitly conveys the truth that this is an Aboriginal land.

Another First People of this nation are our Traditional Another First People of this nation are our Traditional line in the Constitution might be… Owners connected by language and Culture to their ancient country.

The Expert Panel has been charged with a daunting task, knowing that there is precious little time to overcome st the ignorance, racism, doubts and divisions that threaten any chance of a meaningful 21 Century Constitution. By next December the Government wants a clear idea of what should be put to the people.

Some opinion polling indicates that many Australians are resistant to the idea of 'special' rights or recognition for Indigenous people. How could you frame a 'yes or no' referendum question that overcomes such a difficulty? The Expert Panel states among its guiding principles that any proposal for constitutional recognition 'must contribute to a more unified and reconciled nation…be of benefit to and accord with the wishes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples…be capable of being supported by an overwhelming majority of Australians…and be technically and legally sound.'

I am suggesting that Custodianship is the word and the concept that rises above these difficulties.

While some Australians might resist 'special' or 'exceptional' rights or recognition , they may well respect and recognise a value that embraces our mutual love for this land and its people while at the same time clearly acknowledging that Custodianship is a gift to us all from Indigenous people and their knowledge system.

To make the Constitution 'Australian' it must have more than legal concepts. It must have an Australian essence and relevance. Custodianship introduces the mutual values by which we define ourselves today.

1