Legacies of Luck: Australia's Constitution and National Identity in the 1990s

Abstract

The current Australian constitutional debate is placed in the context of Australians' perception of their own identity. Two developments in particular are focussed on. The first is the acknowledgement by the Australian High Court that aboriginal title to land could survive European settlement. The second is the proposal to establish a republic, in the sense of breaking the links with the Crown, on which Australians will vote in a referendum on 6 November 1999. The article argues that both developments have required Australians to confront the constitutional implications of the fact that they are not homogeneous, for the first time. The process is difficult for this reason, but long overdue. ..