| Abstract: | Over a number of years there has been a public debate in Australia over the place of legal rights in the struggle for Indigenous
economic, social and cultural gains. Most Indigenous leaders have called for a rights agenda as a solution to Indigenous disadvantage.
However, one leader has been a vocal critic of this approach. This paper considers the possibility that although the debates
may fundamentally represent different views as to how best to improve conditions for Indigenous Nations, they also represent
differing approaches to harnessing the support of mainstream Australia in a politically conservative environment. In coming
to this position, I am reminded of the arguments put by proponents of the Critical Legal Studies movement in US, that rights
are merely abstractions, and the counter by Patricia Williams, a Critical Race Theorist, that as a result, they can be framed
in a variety of ways and can take the form required by the community in which they are found. In Australia, minority groups
must find an indexically-open vehicle, fitting to the Australian rhetorical structure(s), to represent their struggle for
economic, social and cultural rights.
Tracey Summerfield is a white woman born in Perth, Western Australia. Thanks to Stephanie Monck, a Kungarakan/Warramungu woman
from the Northern Territory, who provided assistance and feedback on an earlier version. The views expressed here are, of
course, those of the writer alone. |
