You are invited to attend
Faculty of Law Twilight Seminar: Indigenous sovereignty and the Voice: structural reforms to respect First Nations Country-based authority
Presenter: Mr Jason O'Neil
Date: Tuesday, 20 May 2025
Time: 5.00pm-6.30pm (AEST)
Venue: BLD04_2_31
The seminar will commence at 5.30pm with light refreshments being offered from 5pm (vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free options available).
Drawing on an upcoming chapter in The Failure of the Voice Referendum and the Future of Australian Democracy and my PhD research, I’ll reflect on how, in the absence of a constitutionally enshrined Voice, genuine Indigenous self-determination still requires structural reform to enable Australian governments to engage with Indigenous cultural authority.
In over 50 years of Commonwealth involvement in Indigenous policy, despite significant pushes for Indigenous self-determination and various iterations of representative bodies, there has never been a structure which has required, encouraged or enabled Australian governments to engage with or respect the Country-based cultural and political authority held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The First Nations Voice called for in the Uluru Statement from the Heart could have enabled this engagement between Indigenous peoples and Australian governments.
Maintaining the status quo in Indigenous affairs will lead to a continuation of policy failure by Australian governments that have proven their inability to meet Indigenous needs. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples continue to assert sovereignty and call for genuine self-determination. The question is how can Australian governments reconfigure themselves so that these sovereignties can resurge and flourish within Australia’s political and legal landscape?
Please register your attendance by 5pm on Tuesday 13 May 2025.
Presenter - Mr Jason O’Neil
Jason O'Neil is a Lecturer in the School of Global and Public Law in the Faculty of Law and Justice, and a Scientia PhD Candidate in the School of Social Sciences. His research interests span Indigenous Studies, public law, and public policy, with an emphasis on Indigenous peoples' cultural resurgence and rights to self-determination as peoples.
Jason's PhD project is focused on redefining Indigenous self-determination in Australian public policy, with an emphasis on reconfiguring public policy to respond to Indigenous peoples' right to self-determination and cultural authority. Jason teaches into the public law curriculum.
Jason is a Wiradjuri man from Central West NSW, with a strong interest in Wiradjuri language revitalisation and the resurgence of Indigenous languages across Australia.