Indigenous Australians and those supporting the cause of Aboriginal justice have used the language of citizenship rights to demand redress for indigenous peoples’ relative disadvantage. In doing so they make an appeal to rights of full participatory citizenship which have their roots in T.H. Marshall's writings. Liberal political theory, however, has resisted conceptions of citizenship which entail rights of assistance from the state: rights to welfare are more readily conceived of as charitable acts towards those members of a society unable to care for themselves. Unless the assumptions implicit in liberal conceptions of citizenship are challenged, demands for positive citizenship rights may re‐enforce stereotypes of Aboriginal inferiority. Drawing on Will Kymlicka's recent work, this article critically examines liberal conceptions of citizenship, welfare and demands for indigenous group‐specific rights as they may apply to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander citizenship.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Human Society
Research Group:	Political science
Research Field:	Citizenship
Objective Division:	Law, Politics and Community Services
Objective Group:	Government and politics
Objective Field:	Civics and citizenship
UTAS Author:	Dodds, SM (Professor Susan Dodds)
ID Code:	90411
Year Published:	1998
Deposited By:	Arts, Law and Education
Deposited On:	2014-04-03
Last Modified:	2014-04-03
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