Indigenous activist calls for seventh state for Aboriginals as he slams Anthony Albanese’s ‘stupid’ Voice to Parliament
An Indigenous leader has proposed that the Aboriginal people form a seventh Australian state while rejecting Anthony Albanese’s ‘stupid’ vote for parliament.
Michael Mansell, a proud Palawa man, lawyer and activist, says land must be returned to the First Nations people so they can form their own independent state.
The people belonging to the seventh state would be ruled by an Aboriginal government that would have the same governing powers as the other states.
“Give the land back to the indigenous people and allow us to form our own Aboriginal government which is part of the constitution, and we have the same powers as the state government,” Mansell said. SBS program The Point: Referendum Roadtrip.
“The constitution then protects us against interference.
“But how can you start that discussion when you’re talking about some stupid advisory body called Voice?
“We don’t need another body. We just need people who listen to what we say.’
Michael Mansell, a proud Palawa man, lawyer and activist says land must be returned to Aboriginal people so they can form an independent state
In 2017, Mr. Mansell introduced the idea of a seventh state during an interview with the ABCwhere he said the thesis was based on the idea that “every people has the right to live in external freedom and liberty within its own territory.”
“Providing a predominantly Aboriginal-inhabited or dominated state would not change the rules. It’s applying the rules,” he said.
The Australian Constitution gives the power to the Federal Parliament to create new states from territory already belonging to existing states.
Mr Mansell said large tracts of land already owned by Aboriginal people could form an independent state that would also qualify for Commonwealth funding.
He said non-Indigenous people could travel freely throughout the new state and would be welcome to live there permanently as citizens.
Mr. Mansell signed the Uluru Statement from the Heart in 2017 and is a widely respected First Nations activist, lawyer and author.
He is the Chairman of the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania.
On January 26 this year, Mr Mansell declared that no professional sport should be played on Australia Day in relation to First Nations people.
‘Sports organizations have a responsibility to take the lead. They should not be allowed to play on January 26, any sport, they should cancel that day,” he said.
His comments came after Australian cricketer and Mururari wife Ashleigh Gardner raised concerns about playing a Twenty20 match against Pakistan in Hobart on Australia Day.
Cricket Australia released a statement earlier this year accepting that the date is ‘challenging for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and is considered a day of mourning for some’.
In 2017, Mr. Mansell introduced the idea of a seventh state during an interview with the ABC, where he said the proposal was based on the idea that “every people have the right to live in their own territory in external freedom and liberty” .
The people belonging to the seventh state would be ruled by an Aboriginal government that would have the same governing powers as the other states
The organization no longer referred to January 26 in 2021 as Australia Day.
But Mr Mansell said sports officials need to go further and make concrete changes, such as moving matches to show their support for the First Nations people.
“Sport should not take advantage of a holiday set aside because of what happened to the Aboriginal people,” he said.
Mr Mansell is also known for presenting a petition to Her Majesty the Queen in 1977 demanding that land be returned to the Aborigines.
At the time, the petition to the Tasmanian government fell on deaf ears.
“So they took me and she asked what the problem was. I said, ‘I have a petition that I can’t show you. We think you should do something about it,” Mansell wrote for NITV.
“I made it clear that I was Aboriginal, that the Crown had taken our land, that we were getting absolutely nothing in return, and that was not acceptable.”
“She listened to me and she understood what I said. All this caused trouble for the dignitaries, because she had walked past them to come see me!’
Mr Mansell (pictured) said large tracts of land already owned by Aboriginal people could become an independent state eligible for Commonwealth funding.
Mr Mansell said Australia should think about a seventh Aboriginal state, rather than a ‘stupid advisory body called Voice’ (photo, Anthony Albanese with Yes campaigners)
Mr Mansell presented the petition to the Queen, along with a box of Aboriginal items including ‘beads and trinkets’.
“I said, ‘Here you can get this, now give our land back.’ I was only joking, but she kept her face straight!’ he remembered.
He said the Queen’s secretary would not let him present his request to Her Majesty, but assured him it would not be ignored.
Mr Mansell described his meeting with the Queen as a major breakthrough for Indigenous Tasmanians as it put the issue of land rights at the center of politics.
He also described the meeting as a turning point as ministers could no longer ignore the issue once it was raised with the Queen.
The Tasmanian Parliament passed legislation on Aboriginal land rights eighteen years later, with Mr Mansell insisting that without the meeting the legislation would not have been passed.