Our Preambles

We the people of Australia,
Recognise the dignity, which is the essence of humanity, and resolve to build together a political, economical and social system to protect the equal rights of all Australians;
Are a free, sovereign and independent people of many origins but a single destiny and embrace our richly diverse multiculturalism;
Acknowledge Indigenous Australians as the original occupants of the land and honour them for their ancient and continuing cultures;
Endeavour to serve as an example of a harmonious and welcoming society dedicated to freedom, justice and equality under the law, where all citizens can realise their potential;
Pledge to uphold the right of all to preserve, develop and express their ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identity;
After one hundred years of Federation, at the start of a new century and millennium - secure in our identity, mindful of our history and confident of our future, commit ourselves to this Constitution.


In my preamble above, I have included all the relevant points that I think are essential in describing what Australia is and what we, as Australians, believe in. I have highlighted the major points that have been publicly disagreed on recently. I credit the Aborigines, but have not used the word "mateship" nor "Queen" or "Crown". Mate is not a gender-neutral word, and I personally think all three words are unnecessary. I have not mentioned God in my preamble because despite my belief in Him, I accept that not all Australians share this belief. I have included multiculturalism, because that is what makes Australia such a great place to live in as exposure to other cultures and languages educates you as a person and makes you more tolerant. I specifically like my ending because it sums everything up very well and ties all the loose ends together. If it was ultimately up to me, I would not even have a preamble because the bickering it has caused may be the major factor in the defeat of a republic. I have made it relatively short because it is only a minor statement preceding the important thing that people have overlooked - the Constitution.

A. Paspaliaris


This is my country made up of Aussie blokes and sheilas.
We cruise the outback in our HJ Holdens. We stop off at all the pubs for a couple of Fosters.
We got bikini babes bronzing at Bondi, while the beer belly blokes laze on the lounge watchin' the telly.
We love footy, cricket and throwin' shrimps on the barbie.
We wrestle crocs, throw boomerangs and play our didgeridoos in our dreamtime at Uluru.
We are true-blue, green and gold.
We are the best country on this planet.
Crows rule.
Cheers.


Z. Stokes


We the citizens of Australia:
Respect the country and all its occupants as equals;
Recognise the Aborigines as the first true inhabitants and
Honour their sacred connection with the land;
Embrace the diversity of culture and religion that comprises our population.

The identity of Australia embodies freedom and justice for all,
And independence and unity as a whole.
We strive to exist in harmony and value each individual's rights.


I believe that a preamble will not change anything, it simply reflects. This is why I think that a short, simple preamble that includes everyone (although not specifically) would better reflect the position of Australia. A preamble really has no power, however, if we are to have one I believe there should be references to everyone, which is why I included the diversity of multiculturalism, religion, sexuality and acknowledged the Aborigines. A preamble should not be biased or intolerant to any aspects of citizens.

M. Livaditis


We, the people of Australia,
Having come together on the 1st of January 1901,
As a federation under the crown,
Respecting and valuing beliefs and religions
Of all ethnic backgrounds among us,
Are proud of our indigenous heritage.
Valuing acceptance and democracy
And embracing freedom of speech and equal rights,
Respecting those who have worked hard
To build and to develop our country,
We commit ourselves to this constitution.


Even though I am not a born Australian, my preamble still means quite a lot to me. I really value the diversity and the multiculturalism of this country, and the freedom of speech of every person living in Australia - no matter their race or background. I also respect those who have worked so hard to make Australia what it is today. Living in Australia for four years already, and seeing the freedom of speech and the equal rights - I commit myself wholly to this constitution.

I. Mitina


We, the free people of The Land Down Under wish to be detached from the crown to become an independent nation of yobbos who watch footy on the T.V. and drink beer by the gallons.
It seems ironic that our favourite dinner or lunch is a good barbecue and we are being barbecued under the sun from the depletion of the ozone layer caused by idiots in the northern hemisphere. Despite this, we live in the best piece of scorched earth on this rock.
We recognise our past injustices to our next door neighbours who throw things at us because we beat them at their sport, cricket.
You are welcome here any time. Just bring yourselves, your recipes and your money but not your enemies. The people of Oz wish to get it through that this is our country and hopefully always will be.
We should forget the past and plan for the future. We are not a paranoid race of people so we don't need guns. We prefer a good fist fight if that's what it comes down to. We should settle our differences at the Olympics where people from all other foreign countries battle it out. We love our sport.
We may seem a bit silly importing foreign wines when we have one of the best wine industries in the world but we think of the rest of the world as our mates, and with our mates we share. We Australians tend to think of war as a kind of sport. We yell at and abuse the other team until they sink but we prefer to settle the score over a beer, watching the footy. We may seem loud, and sports obsessed but we are really a friendly, accepting lot of humans.
We're not a serious bunch of people, but we are not an impotent lot either.
Every man and woman drinks his or her own beer.
Amen.


C. Wilcox


We, the people of Australia, united as a Federation in 1901, blessed by Almighty God, have come together to form our nation, Australia.
United by freedom, equality, justice and embracing democracy, we commit ourselves to this, our Constitution.
We recognise indigenous Australians and our multicultural society and respect their history, customs and beliefs.
New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia come together to form the Federal Commonwealth, and will strive to make this country one to be proud of.


I thought it was important to mention when we became a federation because this was the time the people of Australia came together and became independent from the United Kingdom. I recognised indigenous Australians, but I did not mention anything about our land. I did not do this because in the newspaper articles they said it was a good idea not to mention this. I also mentioned all the states and territories and how they came together because John Howard left out Tasmania in his preamble. Tasmania is most definitely part of Australia and I clarified this. Basically we came together to make this country, Australia, a better place for all that live here.

J. Hoffrichter



We the people of Australia, having come together as a Federation in 1901, and having no idea who our first Prime Minister was, blindly embrace this constitution and farce of a democracy-A democracy where Mr Sheen can be elected into office and present us with his bold new vision of yesteryear, a democracy where a party of gun-toting rednecks from up north can get over one million votes and still not get a single seat in parliament.

We the people of this desolate land with a great big rock in the middle of it that's slowly wearing down because of all the Japanese tourists and their 2000 rolls of Fuji film, recognise that the original inhabitants of this land were the Australian Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, who lived and hunted on this land for many millennia with spears and boomerangs, which made them easy targets for the British and their muskets. The Jews didn't stand a chance and neither did they.

We the people of the largest kitty litter box in the world, who had to listen to some red headed, uneducated freak from the deep dark depths of Queensland whine about how migrants can't speak our language when at the same time she couldn't even pronounce Australia properly, recognise that our land is diverse in culture- wogs, nips, abbos, slopes, call them what you will... and get arrested. We admire other cultures for their beliefs and practices. We also like their take-away shops and the fascinating movies on SBS. If it wasn't for this cultural diversity we'd have to invent our own culture, and everyone knows that we'd be too lazy to do that.

We the people of this great big, brown land that's been called the ass end of the world by a cradle-snatching, Jewish stand-up comic with nothing better to do than whine about absolutely nothing, believe in equality for all citizens. Only when we clap our hands and wish really hardl

We the people of the land that we call Oz, which is under the leadership of a bald midget who still has a calendar from 1956 on his desk and has to sit on both volumes of the Yellow Pages to be seen over that same desk,believe in freedom of expression for all, especially in Canberra, sex capital of Australia and world's biggest roundabout.

And finally, we the people of this great big, proud land that lies under the hole in the ozone layer, are lazy! We make Mark Taylor Australian of the Year and what's the first thing he does? Retire. The British Monarchy seems to have little relevance in our country today according to a vast majority of Australians. That same majority wants to keep the Queen's Birthday long weekend and every other long weekend we have and then some more.

Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi, Oi, Oi!


This is purely a parody of a preamble. Most of the content is simply in good humour. Some of it is my personal opinion, especially the part about Hanson. The wisecracks about Howard are just jokes and in actual fact I think nothing of him as PM of Australia. I admit the comparison of the Aborigines and the Jews was a bit harsh but all in all there are some similarities that are evident whenever we hear about early Australian history and the stuff about the White Australia Policy. The part about migrants and all the slang is simply based on what I've heard on TV and in the schoolyard when I was younger. Our laws might try to make it seem that everybody is equal but there are some loopholes for rich people or incidences where the law might be too late. Aussies being lazy is an obvious one where no one cares about the Queen but they love the Birthday long weekends (so do I!).



My Second Draft Preamble

People of Australia, Here it is...

Basically the preamble is supposed to be the introduction to the Australian Constitution. The average person doesn't really care too much about what they put in the preamble only the politicians and the special groups. In my opinion, the Constitution is the important part because that's where our laws are set out and that's where our attention should be if we are going to debate about the republic issue. Also, this second draft of mine was just to add some seriousness to the whole thing.

P. Sonthavong


We, the people of Australia,
Under the ruling of almighty God,
Residing under the crown,
Recognise the original Australian inhabitants,
And their right to be treated equally,
As all Australians deserve.
Freedom is the key to a great country,
especially one as unique as ours, and we
Commit ourselves to this constitution.


The Preamble above is obviously about Australia which was controlled by Britain under the crown. The original Australian inhabitants have to be recognised and they have the right to be treated equally like all Australians. We have to preserve our country as one of the best. These above beliefs are needed to have a good constitution.

M. Wong


The people of Australia of the independent nation
United as a federation under the crown, with the blessing of Almighty God,
Being drawn from across the globe,
Recognise the indigenous Australians as the first inhabitants of our land,
Believe in freedom and that all are equal; to renew our nation as a republic, being free from the union jack,
Commit ourseIves to this constitution.


This preamble is about the Australian colony. The first sentence is when all states were united in 1901 as a federation that was ruled by the British. The second sentence shows that we need the blessing of god. "The people of this independent nation being drawn from across the globe" means that Australia is a multicultural country and that we have many migrants from different countries. The "indigenous Australians" is referring to the Aborigines as the first inhabitants of Australia. Now Australia is thinking of being a republic and then we won't be a part of the British Commonwealth. This means that our flag would not contain the Union Jack. The last sentence means that every Australian is contributing to their country.

M. Chen


We, the people of Australia,
having come together as a federation in 1901,
being an independent nation valuing democracy, equality and freedom,
who love our diverse and unique land,
commit ourselves to this constitution.


I intentionally made my preamble a lot shorter than the previous ones as I believe that the other drafts are too long and generally lose the readers' interest. In making my preamble shorter I omitted most of the lines that had caused the controversy in previous drafts. I omitted God, the monarchy and the original inhabitants bit as I feel that everything that happened before 1901 was not to do with the country of Australia but with the land on which our country is built.

N. Couch


The citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia believe all to be equal and united under the flag of our freedom and embrace democracy. In the hopes and values which are unique in the culturally diverse fabric of our society and in the spirit of reconciliation with the original occupants of this vast land, we celebrate our multicultural people by setting down this, our constitution.

This preamble was written without fuss and hopefully without a lot of poetic fillers that I've seen in every other proposed preamble. It flows smoothly and defines what I think of Australia. We shouldn't be focusing on the past atrocities of our European settlers against the Aboriginal people, we should be reconciling our differences and looking to the future. This is a big issue and I think we recognise that yes, they were the original inhabitants, but today, in reality, they are an integral part of our society as a whole. And that is what defines Australia. The stereotypical Aussie nowadays can't be defined-there is no stereotype or there shouldn't be. We are multicultural and as a nation we embrace and rejoice in our freedom and the democracy which we live in. Our values and hopes are unique to the Australian way of life and with this in mind I wrote this preamble.

S. Schonfeldt


We are of the great southern land, the commonwealth of Australia.
Our people have travelled far, from all corners of the world in order to live in a nation of new hope, which has been long inhabited by the Aborigines and Torres Straight Islanders.
The vast land from coast to coast endures diversity with adversity.
All people abide by the rules and laws of our democracy and all believe in freedom.
Australians are proud of their heritage and are free to pursue any dreams or hopes that they may have.
People from the states and territories united as a Federal Commonwealth in 1901 and we have since become an independent nation.
We highly value excellence and fairness.
In this spirit we, as citizens of Australia, commit ourselves to the constitution


For my content I used different aspects from John Howard's draft, the Labour Party's draft and the Constitutional Centenary Foundation draft. I tried to find the most important points and then reconstruct them in my own words.
I believe that I have commented on the most important points aboutt the Aboriginals and the Torres Straight Islanders and also referring to multiculturalism in saying that we have come from all parts of the Earth. I also think that I conveyed Australia's beliefs and thoughts on this topic. My ending was well constructed first saying about excellence and independence and then saying that we commit ourselves to this constitution.

R. Hopkins


Australia was formed in 1901 and has become more multicultural and is looking forward to becoming a republic now.
We are proud of our country and are trying to make it even better.
We know everyone deserves freedom and equality and an equal say in their government.
Immigrants have contributed greatly to the nation we have become today.
Australians are encouraged to fulfil their hopes and ideas. We are all individuals working together for the good of our country.
We are committed to this and our constitution.


K. Walker


We, the people of Australia,
Proud of our country,
Celebrating our diversity,
Loving our ancient and unique land,
Believing in freedom and equality,
Embracing democracy
To build a united Australia,
Commit ourselves to this, our constitution.


I think this preamble works better than the others do because it is very simple and short; it leaves out anything that could be construed as offensive. It talks about every Australian as one, not as cultural groups, or original custodians. So in that way is doesn't go into much detail, which means groups don't feel left out as it is so small. Preambles do not need to be long so why make them long? All they are is an introduction to the constitution. That's what actually matters. So why make such an effort over it? A short, to the point preamble like this one is all the constitution needs.

D. O'Connell


We, the people of Australia,
Recognise the dignity which is fhe essence of human activity.
The Australian nation is made up of differen* cultures and backgrounds.
By the blessing of God, our continent, including Tasmania, has helped to mould this new generation of futures, in the spirit of the people.
Aboriginals and Torres Straight Islanders are recognised as original occupants of this land and are commended for continuing their ancient cultures.
Proud of our diversity, loving our ancient, unique land, being an Independent nation, we believe in freedom and equal rights for all people.


I believe that the Indigenous people were the first occupants of this land and that they should be recognised for that. I also think that all the different cultures of people should be recognised as they share this land with us and live here, so why not mention them? I think that most people who live on our continent our proud of the diversity we have chosen, they also love it. The most important thing that is written in this preamble is that everyone has freedom and equal rights. Another thing is we are an independent nation which is the best thing that could be mentioned.

K. Kohler


We as Australians,
Come together as one.
Our hope and our tolerance,
Our sweeping plains and ragged mountain ranges,
Are a backdrop for a beautiful land.
We are free to believe in any religious concepts, and in doing so,
Have the right to feel safe and free from harm.
We honour the people who have worked to make Australia the wonderful place in which we live today.
We are made of six states; Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania and two Territories; The Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.
And together we make one big land,
AUSTRALIA.


In this preamble I wanted to acknowledge the tolerance and acceptance of the Australian people. I believe that we are accepting to people of different, race, colour, background, and I thought this should be included.
I wrote that `We the Australian People come together to form One' and this is what I believe we do. We all stick together in times of need and support each other, and this, in my opinion, is a great asset. I also wanted to describe a bit about the Australian land, so I took a few lines from the poem by Dorothea Mackellar `My Country.' This poem is known world wide and is used all the time in describing the Australian land. I also think it is a well written poem, and this is why I used it. I basically wanted to write about Australia being a multicultural land, that is known for its acceptance and tolerance.

S. Dodd


Having come together in 1901
As a federation under the crown,
As a democratic and open society,
The Commonwealth of Australia
Is constituted by the equal sovereignty of all its citizens.
We recognise indigenous Australians
As the original occupants of our land and
Believe in freedom and equality.
In this sprit, we, the Australian people,
Commit ourselves to this constitution.


D. Harvey


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