Anglicare response

Editorial & Letters|Wednesday, Jan 25 2012 | Free article|Subscribe for full access

Other recent news:

EDITORIAL: The year that was
While looking towards the new year, take the time to take a look back on the year past.

Army reserve reunion
Forty years ago - on January 23, 1972 – Queen's and regimental colours were presented to the 43rd Battalion (Bushman’s Rifles), Royal South Australia Regiment by the Governor-General of Australia, Sir Paul Hasluck, at a ceremonial parade on the Adelaide Oval.

Constitution vote concern
An article in a daily paper quoted leaders of the Anglican Church as seeking community unity with a 'yes' vote at the next referendum about recognising indigenous people in the Constitution.

Re-gift to Red Cross
Is the pretty pink girly polka dot dress from Nanna not quite your thing?

MDB plan doubts
The closure of the Heinz's Girgarre tomato sauce factory with the loss of 146 jobs is a sign of what will come if the Federal Government adopts the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) Draft Plan.

By Lynn Arnold, CEO Anglicare SA and Jeffrey Driver, Archbishop of Adelaide

The position taken by Ken Grundy in his letter (The Loxton News, January 11) is unfortunately ill informed and has not fully reflected our views or that of Anglicare SA.

The constitution is our founding legal document and a very powerful symbol.

It sets the tone on how Australians view themselves and how we present ourselves to the rest of the world.

Unfortunately our constitution echoes a time where Aboriginal people were discriminated against and laws were made based on a person’s heritage.

As our constitution stands, any Australian Government of the day can make laws which are discriminatory, based on race.

This applies to people of every race, not just Aboriginal people.

Section 25 allows for people to be excluded from voting by virtue of their race alone and section 51(xxvi) allows the Parliament to make laws affecting particular groups of people based on race.

We say that section 25 and 51(xxvi) are no longer defensible and should be removed. We also believe a positive statement should be included in the constitution guaranteeing a person cannot be negatively discriminated against based on race.

Our constitution should recognise the value of Aboriginal peoples and their languages as the nation’s first people.

This would be a significant mark of community commitment on our country’s journey to meaningful reconciliation.

Success at referendum in no easy task and Anglicare SA is doing all we can to get the correct information out there.

Only eight out of the last 44 referendums have succeeded.

A double majority is required which means every person’s vote will count.

We each have a responsibility to take the debate seriously.

A referendum will likely be in 2013, and we need to be informed with the correct information and be ready.