A panel in Australia has recommended that the country’s constitution be changed to recognize the indigenous population, as well as to cut out racist sections.

A panel of politicians, indigenous leaders, and legal experts held public meetings on changes to the Australian Constitution and presented its findings to the government on Jan. 19. The group interviewed more than 4,600 people in 84 locations across Australia to generate its report.

The panel recommended updating sections of the constitution that prohibit people from voting based on race and called for the recognition “that the continent and its islands now known as Australia were first occupied by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.”

Since Europeans settled the continent, indigenous Australians have been heavily discriminated against by both settlers and the government. Politicians have since apologized for past mistreatment, but past policies have left Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples disenfranchised.

In the first draft of the constitution, crafted in the 19th century, indigenous peoples could not be counted in the population census and were also subjected to other limitations. Australians voted to remove many of these points of contention in a referendum in 1967, but the panel says more should be done.

“Many people were shocked to find out that the constitution still lets the government make laws that discriminate on the basis of race,” stated the panel in its report. “Australians can be proud of their modern nation and their constitution. But two sections in it stop it [from] being fair to all Australians.”

The panel called for a new section, in which the state would acknowledge the relationship between indigenous peoples and their land and water. It also proposed a section to declare that while Australia’s official language is English, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages are recognized as the original languages of Australia.

The new laws should be placed in the body of the constitution, rather than in two preambles, recommended the panel, noting that “some uncertainty may arise” if the latter were to happen. According to its proposal, the changes should be voted on via a referendum in 2013.

The panel noted that its interviews “revealed strong support across the country for constitutional recognition.” It advised that the referendum should be in the form of a single question and that the Australian government should instate an education program about the issue across the country.

This proposal may meet with opposition, however. In 1999, a referendum that included a proposal for a preamble to the country’s constitution, which recognized the Australian indigenous people as the first inhabitants, was defeated.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who endorsed the report, said that Australians should accept the panel’s recommendations to change the constitution.

“The government does not underestimate the challenge of achieving nationwide consensus. Change will not happen without support from across the political spectrum and the support of the majority of Australians,” read a statement from Gillard’s office.

Parliament Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said his party will look at the report but has “some reservations about anything that might turn out to be a one-clause bill of rights,” according to the Australia Broadcasting Corporation.

“But we accept that millions of Australians’ hopes and dreams are resting on constitutional recognition of Indigenous people, and the last thing I want to do is do anything other than welcome this report today,” Abbott added.