Historic Amendment to the Queensland Constitution

5 March 2010

Recently the Bligh Labor Government concluded Queensland's 150th Anniversary celebrations by honouring the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander - First Australians - in the Queensland Constitution.

"This preamble will modernise our Constitution, providing a vision for the kind of state that Queenslanders believe in - a society based on democracy, freedom and peace" Premier Bligh said in her speech to Parliament introducing the Bill.

Premier Anna Bligh described as a key aspect of the Bill, "The acknowledgment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first Australians and, indeed, the first Queenslanders. It will provide an enduring statement on behalf of Queensland people that acknowledges where we have come from and our aspirations for tomorrow's Queensland".

Under the Bill the Consitution will now begin as follows:

The people of Queensland, free and equal citizens of Australia;

• intend through this Constitution, to foster the peace, welfare and good government of Queensland;

• adopt the principle of the sovereignty of the people, under the rule of law, and the system of representative and responsible government, prescribed by this Constitution;

• honour the Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander people, the first Australians, whose lands, winds and waters we all now share; and pay tribute to their unique values, and their ancient and enduring cultures, which deepen and enrich the life of our community;

• determine to protect our unique environment

• acknowledge the achievements of our forebears, coming from many backgrounds, who together faced and overcame adversity and injustice, and whose efforts bequeathed to us, and future generations, a realistic opportunity to strive for social harmony; and

• resolve in this the 150th anniversary year of the establishment of Queensland, to nurture our inheritance, and build a society based on democracy, freedom and peace.

Opposition Response

Opposition leader John Paul Langbroek lead the LNP's opposition to the Constitutional amendment on the basis that it "elevated recognition of one ethnic group within the Queensland Community - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people - to the exclusion of all others".

Mr Langbroek also took the opportunity to explain his distaste for the widely practiced Acknowledgment of Country. "I am uncomfortable with the message sent by public officials at public events and ceremonies when speakers begin every speech with the words, 'I begin by acknowledging the first Australians on whose land we meet ... Since Labor has been on the ascendancy in the states and now in the Commonwealth, this politically correct custom has become a staple feature of many public functions ... In my view, this platitude is a superficial nod in the direction of a select group of Australians".

Perhaps the most bizarre comment, however, was when Mr Langbroek explained the LNP's opposition to the Bill was in part due to "the use of the expression 'First Australians' as a divisive term. It implies that there are Second Australians and so on."