Australia expected to amend race discrimination clause in constitution

Australian indigenous and political leaders are optimistic they can work together to nut out a form of words for a referendum on Aboriginal recognition in the constitution at a summit in Sydney on Monday.

Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia's are not recognized as the nations first Australians and there is no mention of the peoples in the Australian constitution.

There are also a number of references to race in Australia's constitution that allow Australian governments to discriminate against Indigenous Australians.

"Until we include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our nation's birth certificate it's just not complete," Australian political opposition leader Bill Shorten told reports outside the summit venue.

On Sunday, Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott told a reception ahead of the talks that their mission was "to correct a great silence in our constitution," according to local media.

Abbot acknowledged that it was somewhat unusual that he and his political opponent Shorten were effectively jointly hosting the occasion.

"The fact that we are doing this is a sign not just of our commitment to recognizing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the constitution but a sign of the importance of this recognition to our nation," Abbott said.

The National Congress of Australia's First Peoples told Australia's national broadcaster on Sunday it will push to change a clause in the constitution that allows race discrimination.

However prominent Australian indigenous figure Noel Pearson, who is attending Monday's summit, took a swipe at the minimalists who are advocating the symbolic change.

"Cosmetic surgery: a symbolic shot of Botox, ignoring the broken foot," Pearson wrote in a News Corp opinion editorial on Monday.

Pearson suggested a committee made of up indigenous representatives to be able to review legislation that affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, giving them an active say on laws that affect them rather challenging legislation through Australia's High Court.

The summit comes ahead of a Fairfax Ipsos opinion poll showing 85 percent of Australian voters support amending the Australian constitution. About 10 percent are in opposition to amending it.

However Abbott told the delegation on Sunday that "the constitutional of our country does belong to all the people of Australia."

"So what we bring forward has to be something that can be owned ultimately by the vast majority of the people of our country," Abbott said.

Abbott's chief indigenous affairs adviser Warren Mundine said the largest issue will be the wording of the referendum question.

"That's what the argument is going to be about," Mundine said.

It would be a "kick in the gut" if a referendum did not occur, Mundine said.

Shorten said in a statement prior to the summit that indigenous recognition was not beyond the nation's grasp.

"I believe Australians are big enough, smart enough and generous enough to vote for genuine, real change. Cosmetic tinkering with the preamble is insufficient."

Though Monday's summit is not expected to end with agreement on a referendum question, it is likely to set out a timetable to take the various proposals back to Australian communities for further consultations.

There have been 44 referendum proposals in Australia, only eight have been successful.