Abbott, a conservative and monarchist, has a strong commitment to social justice and has taken on the cause of improving the lot of Australia's Aborigines as a personal commitment.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott plans to hold a referendum in 2017 to change the constitution and finally recognise Aborigines as the nation's first people.
Calling the change a unifying moment for the nation, Abbott said he would like the referendum to be held on May 27, 2017, the 50th anniversary
of a historic referendum in which Australians granted citizenship to the Aborigines.
"This is at least as important as any of the other causes that this government has been prepared to take on," he said.
Abbott, a conservative and monarchist, has a strong commitment to social justice and has taken on the cause of improving the lot of Australia's Aborigines as a personal commitment. In September, he spent a week in a tent on a remote Aboriginal site, fulfilling a pledge to spend a week each year in an Aboriginal community.
"The country we created has an Aboriginal heritage, a British foundation and a multicultural character and it's high time that this reality was reflected in our constitution," Abbott said.
