Indigenous constitutional recognition: the concept of consultation

INTRODUCTION I was asked to make some remarks about the concept of‘consultation’ in the proposal for Indigenous constitutional recognition put forward by the Cape York Institute (‘CPI’). My understanding of what presently is proposed is taken from the two submissions by the CPI to the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (‘Joint Committee’)1 and from Anne Twomey’s very helpful piece in The Conversation, translating these proposals into constitutional form. The essential elements, as I understand them, are these: An Indigenous body would be required by the Constitution, with its composition, roles, powers and procedures provided in legislation. The body would provide ‘advice’ to the Commonwealth Parliament and government on what are described as ‘matters relating’ to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The advice would be required to be tabled in the Parliament as soon as practicable, by the Prime Minister or the Speaker (in principle, I prefer the latter). Both Houses would be required to ‘give consideration’ to the advice in debating proposed laws with respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The ‘advice’ would not be binding and the provisions would be drafted so as to be non-justiciable (although without expressly  saying so). The Indigenous body could be proactive as well as reactive, in the sense of offering advice on any matters as it considered fit. This new provision would be added to the Constitution in a new Chapter IA, immediately following the chapter on the Parliament and preceding the chapter on the Executive. OBSERVATIONS In my view, this is a helpful and constructive proposal, offering a new and quite different approach to constitutional recognition, which has some potential to be both effective and broadly acceptable. Cheryl Saunders AO is a laureate professor at Melbourne Law School. She has specialist interests in Australian and comparative public law, including comparative constitutional law and method, intergovernmental relations and constitutional design and change. She is a President Emeritus of the International Association of Constitutional Law, a former President of the International Association of Centres for Federal Studies, a former President of the Administrative Review Council of Australia and a current member of the Advisory Board of International IDEA. This paper was originally presented by Cheryl Saunders at a symposium on constitutional reform at Sydney Law School on 12 June 2015

Protecting Rights in Common Law Constitutional Systems; a Framework for a Comparative Study

This article discusses the changes that have taken place in common law constitutionalism in relation to the protection of rights, broadly defined. The first half of the article explores the way in which four common law nations that expressly protect rights in legislative or constitutional form: New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. The author discusses how the four nations balanced core rights with citizen representation. The second half of the article then explores a common law nation without such protection: Australia. The author argues that the Australian approach demonstrates the impact of constitutionally diffusing power on the protection of rights; once allowance is made for the effects of Australia's written Constitution, rights protection depends on the interplay of political forces in majoritarian parliamentary systems and (to a lesser extent) common law principles applied by independent courts. The author concludes that all nations listed above take a different approach to protecting rights. Notably, Australia provides an interesting study while the author also comments that they have much to learn from the experience of the other four nations.&nbsp

Constitution-making in the 21st century

شهدت العقود القليلة الماضية إما صياغة دساتير أو إجراء تعديلات رئيسية عليها في أكثر من نصف دول العالم. يتناول هذا المقال المناهج المتبعة حديثاً لصياغة الدساتير، ويستند هذا التحليل على ثلاث مراحل رئيسية، تتمثل في إعداد ورقة عمل تتضمن كلا من المواد والإجراءات، ومن ثم تصميم وصياغة المسودة والمصادقة عليها وأخيراً التطبيق. وبالرغم من اختلاف قواعد وآليات وضع الدستور إلا أن هناك بعض السمات التي تميز بها صياغة الدستور في القرن الواحد والعشرين، ومنها المشاركة الشعبية وضرورة بناء الثقة والإخضاع إلى الإشراف الدولي بكافة صوره فضلاً عن أهمية الإجراءات الدستورية. كما يستطلع المقال نماذج أثرت وأخرى قد تؤثر في تطبيقات وضع الدستور. ويستعرض بإيجاز بعض التوترات الرئيسية التي تنشأ – على سبيل المثال – بين التدخل الدولي والملكية المحلية للدستور، وكذلك بين المشاركة الشعبية والرئاسيةConstitutions have been made or changed in major ways in more than half the countries of the world in recent decades. This article deals with contemporary approaches to constitution-making, organising the analysis around three key phases: setting the agenda, in terms of both substance and process; design, drafting and approval; and implementation. It argues that, while all constitution-making processes are different, there are some distinctive features of constitution-making in the 21st century that include popular participation, the need to build trust, internationalisation in its various forms and the importance of process. The article canvasses examples of constitution-making practices that have been or are likely to be influential. It identifies and briefly explores some of the key tensions in constitution-making between, for example, international involvement and domestic ownership of a Constitution and public participation and leadership

Supporting Coordinators of Large Units An Integrated, Team Approach - The OK Caral Model – From Peru’s Sandy Caral To Academe’s Stony Walls - Collaboration for Professional Development is OK!

In 2001, the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Teaching and Learning Committee approved funding for a professional development program for Coordinators of Large Units (CLU) for 2002. This program is jointly facilitated by the Human Resources Department (HR) and Teaching and Learning Support Services (TALSS). The program is unique in both its focus and the way it has harnessed the distinct development responsibilities of two departments – HR for development in management and leadership and TALSS for development in teaching and learning. The CLU program facilitation team comprises two staff members from each Department along with joint administrative support. The focus of the CLU program is twofold: a) to support CLUs as a staff cohort with unique and specific needs and b) to acknowledge and make visible the systemic issues associated with teaching large groups of students

Complexities of Constitutional Change in the Philippines

President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office in July 2016, His party, PDP-Laban, had campaigned under the slogan: “No to Drugs, Yes to Federalism”. Duterte thus is committed to shepherding the Philippines towards a federal form of government; an undertaking that would require an extensive overhaul of the country’s constitution. The future of constitutional change under Duterte in any event is uncertain for a series of constitutional and political reasons. Critically, some of the most pressing of these concern the process of constitutional change itself.

Weight management for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities: Rationale and design for an 18 month randomized trial

Weight management for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) has received limited attention. Studies on weight management in this population have been conducted over short time frames, in small samples with inadequate statistical power, infrequently used a randomized design, and have not evaluated the use of emerging effective dietary strategies such as pre-packaged meals (PMs). Low energy/fat PMs may be useful in individuals with IDD as they simplify meal planning, limit undesirable food choices, teach appropriate portion sizes, are convenient and easy to prepare, and when combined with fruits and vegetables provide a high volume, low energy dense meal. A randomized effectiveness trial will be conducted in 150 overweight/obese adults with mild to moderate IDD, and their study partners to compare weight loss (6 months) and weight maintenance (12 months) between 2 weight management approaches: 1. A Stop Light Diet enhanced with reduced energy/fat PMs (eSLD); and 2. A recommended care reduced energy/fat meal plan diet (RC). The primary aim is to compare weight loss (0–6 months) and weight maintenance (7–18 months) between the eSLD and RC diets. Secondarily, changes in chronic disease risk factors between the eSLD and RC diets including blood pressure, glucose, insulin, LDL-cholesterol, and HDL-cholesterol will be compared during both weight loss and weight maintenance. Finally, potential mediators of weight loss including energy intake, physical activity, data recording, adherence to the diet, study partner self-efficacy and daily stress related to dietary change will be explored

Long-Term Effects of a Physical Activity Intervention in High School Girls

Physical activity decreases during childhood and adolescence, and physical activity levels are significantly lower in females than males, particularly during adolescence. Schools are attractive settings in which to implement interventions designed to promote physical activity in girls and young women, but few studies have tested the sustained effects of such interventions