APPENDIX I: PROCESS FOR FIRST NATIONS REGIONAL DIALOGUES - Process and significance Initial stages

Final Report of the Referendum Council APPENDIX I: PROCESS FOR FIRST NATIONS REGIONAL DIALOGUES Process and significance The bipartisan support of the Government and the Opposition for the Council to host a series of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander designed and led dialogues provided a historic opportunity to genuinely engage with First Peoples. [...] The trial Dialogue confirmed that the structure of the First Nations Regional Dialogues – namely, plenary sessions combined with structured working groups on each of the five principal constitutional reform options – was effective in achieving the aims of the Dialogue process. [...] The format was designed to give participants a chance to examine the main options for recognition that had been put forward, to understand them in detail, to discuss the pros and cons of each proposal and to explore their potential significance for the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians. [...] The first half-day was spent on introductions, an overview of the struggle of the First Nations Peoples for reform since the early 19th century, and a plenary discussion that was broad-ranging on constitutional reform and the aspirations of delegates for the future of their region. [...] These short films, researched and written by Council member Megan Davis and produced and narrated by Rachel Perkins, provided an inspirational historical overview of the Indigenous advocacy for reform and an educational overview of the structure of the Australian political system and the role of the constitution.