AsiaAustralia's indigenous peopleVoice recognitionThe prime minister wants to include Aboriginals in the constitution“This rock is an awesome feature,” says James, a ranger of the Anangu people in central Australia.“It’s a story book.” The story may be about to get longer.James is standing at the base of Uluru, a humungous monolith embedded in the red desert near the middle of Australia.The country’s indigenous people have made it a civil-rights symbol: they want Australians to change the constitution to guarantee them a say in laws that affect their lives.The battle over the call for an Aboriginal “voice to Parliament” is looming as a big test for Anthony Albanese, the newish prime minister (pictured), and his centre-left Labor government.In late July Mr Albanese flew to an Aboriginal festival in Arnhem Land, some 2,000km north of Uluru, to add his own voice to the campaign.On July 30th he promised the region’s Yolngu people a referendum on the idea within his government’s three-year term, calling it “a momentous change” and a step “in our nation’s journey of healing”.
