Australia would be split by UN declaration: Minister

A UN declaration on indigenous rights would have split Australia by giving Aborigines special privileges if the government accepted it, the Indigenous Affairs Minister said today.

The UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples last week despite the objections of Australia, the United States, Canada and New Zealand that it was incompatible with existing laws.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough said the declaration, if ratified by Australia, would have given Aborigines veto powers over parliament, made customary law superior to national law and created the potential for indigenous compensation claims over land.

“The rights that would have been conferred upon some Australians over others as a result of this declaration ... would have done more to split Australians and to damage reconciliation and to put one group of Australians in a privileged position over and above others,” Brough told Parliament.