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Prominent priest, lawyer and social justice advocate Frank Brennan has renewed calls for Indigenous recognition in the constitution, calling the last decade of Aboriginal policy "a bit of a mess".
"The constitution is our constitution, it's the constitution of all Australians, and there can be no change unless we're all at the table," Fr Brennan said to 105.7 ABC Darwin.
The Catholic priest's comments come as an advocacy group spearheading constitutional recognition called for the Prime Minister Tony Abbott to urgently convene a promised leaders' meeting to discuss a referendum.
Mr Abbott favours holding a referendum in 2017 on the 50th anniversary of the successful 1967 vote, which removed a number of references that discriminated against Aboriginal people.
In March, Mr Abbott signalled his agreement to hold a meeting with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and Indigenous representatives to discuss key issues related to constitutional change, but that meeting is yet to take place.
The advocacy group, Recognise, has released a poll that suggests 75 per cent of Australians would back a yes vote if the referendum was held today.
The poll's findings reflect that of a similar poll conducted by the Australian National University in March.
Fr Brennan said he fully respects concerns from some Indigenous elders that constitutional recognition could simply become lip service in the face of ongoing structural challenges.
"But I try to imagine, if I were an Indigenous leader, which of course I'm not, I'd be saying to myself: 'is it an either/or situation?'" he said.
"No, I don't think it is. I think it's both.
"At the moment, we have a constitution that doesn't even mention Aborigines ... I think their position would be enhanced [by recognition].
"I would be minded to say that, yes, it doesn't change things overnight on the ground, but it is a useful complement to what we're wrestling with at the moment."
Fr Brennan launched his career 30 years ago and began as a volunteer in the first Aboriginal legal service in Australia.
He has spent the last few years researching the possibility of constitutional recognition for a book, released on Monday, initially prompted by a realisation that Aboriginal policy was "in a bit of a mess".
"We had the Intervention, the creation of 'super shires' in the Northern Territory, and there seemed to be a lot of despair amongst Aboriginal communities," he said.
His book is dedicated to the nephew of prominent Indigenous elder Miriam Rose Bauman, who lives in Daly Rivers community Nauiyu directly affected by the introduction of new shire arrangements.
Ms Bauman's nephew died by suicide five years ago.
Fr Brennan said there was still a lot of truth in an old comment by the late Professor WE Stanner, who once said Indigenous youth were stuck between "the Dreaming and the market".
"Life can be pretty good if you've got a secure foothold in each of those, and I think we see many people these days able to do that very proudly in Australian communities," Fr Brennan said.
"But the real sadness is those who find themselves without a foothold in either and then become very bereft."
The social justice campaigner, who has also written about Mabo and was famously called a "meddling priest" by former prime minister Paul Keating, launched his book in Daly Rivers last week.
"I'd hope that the book can contribute to some resolution of these issues down the track," he said.
"These things take a long time for change but I must say it was wonderful to be received at Daly Rivers community as I was."
Topics: community-and-society, men-religious, religious-leaders, indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, aboriginal, constitution, government-and-politics, darwin-0800