Episode 5: The People's Constitution by Bronwyn Kelly (Chapter 1 - Part 3)

In Episode 5 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 1 – Part 3 of her book, The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy. In this section, headed "Where power should reside - and soon", she suggests that Australia’s Constitution is useless in its current form if we genuinely wish to retain Australia as a democratic state, not just because it has no capacity to rein in corporate power but because it has no space for the people themselves and offers them no capacity to create the necessary participation in democracy that all Australians will need if they are to build a democracy worth the name and navigate the future safely. However, this problem can be overcome if we transition to a people’s constitution. Bronwyn begins to outline this new sort of constitution, suggesting that it should contain a new specification of the process by which power may be shared with and exercised by the people in an orderly manner.She outlines how that process must function as both a negative force and a positive force in a newly inclusive democracy. On the negative side it must enable efficient vigilance by the people against surges of unreasonable power (wherever and whenever they may arise). And on the positive side it must enable the people to set the agenda for their future – to establish the specifics of their will.Bronwyn concludes Chapter 1 by suggesting that a key factor affecting the need for a new inclusive power system has arisen from the fact that Australia’s First Nations have called for a coexistence of sovereignties. The conclusion is that if an Indigenous Voice is to have the best chance of actually working to the benefit of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, it will be necessary not just to enshrine the Indigenous Voice in the Constitution but to revise the Constitution itself so that it can support a sufficiently powerful voice for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. This is the minimum necessary for a coexistence of viable sovereignties.   This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bronwynkelly.substack.com