One of the dearest-held goals of Aboriginal people in the NT has been the protection of our rights in a constitution. Since the days of the Bark Petition, Yolgnu have been aware that the protection offered by legislation – ranging from the Aboriginal protection ordinances to the Land Rights Act – is only as secure as the government of the day. We have long believed that the protection of our rights deserves a higher level of recognition and protection. One of the watersheds in recent Aboriginal thinking about constitutional development and statehood was the 1998 statehood plebiscite. Prior to the vote, the Kalkaringi Statement was developed by Central Australian Aboriginal representatives. After the plebiscite failed, Aboriginal representatives from the whole NT came together and endorsed the Kalkaringi Statement, and developed an action plan for constitutional recognition.

The bottom line is the discussion has always been the protection of our traditional rights. Aboriginal people have been clear that we are not opposed to statehood as such, but that we would oppose any move to statehood which did not take account of our unique position as the traditional owners of much of the NT, and recognise our continuing systems of law and governance. In many ways, the 1998 plebiscite was an example of what not to do. It is hoped that the new Chief Minister’s statehood agenda learns from those mistakes, and develops a participatory and consultative process which honours our core principles:
- Protection of traditional rights, particularly our land rights, and the fundamental tenet of informed consent to use of our land;
- Recognition and protection of our continuing law and systems of governance;
- Good government: equality of access, transparency, fair representation and opportunities for participation;
- Protection of our human and cultural rights: to education, health, safety, use of our languages, and religious practices.

These same principles can apply at a local and regional level to create genuine bicultural systems of governance which combine the best of both worlds. However the capacity to implement local and regional change without the structural or constitutional support is limited. Without genuine constitutional reform, we could end up with overburdened regional/local governments with no real power to deliver on the expectations and aspirations of our people. Talk of Aboriginal governance then must involve both the big picture and the small. It must build on the strengths of our existing rights and systems, while incorporating the strengths of western models. This may sound hard to achieve, but if it can be achieved anywhere in Australia it is here, in the NT. It is our challenge – to ourselves as Aboriginal people and to our government – to make that happen.