Professor Dodson made the call while delivering this year’s La Trobe University Sir John Quick lecture at the Bendigo Town Hall last night.

He said that visiting a lot of schools in his role as Australian of the Year had given him a greater understanding of the changes that needed to be made in the education sector.

“I’m particularly concerned with education at the schooling level,” Professor Dodson said.

“The problem is that the many good things we see at schools are not as widespread as they should be around the country.

“If we want to support everyone and not let them down, like we’re letting them down, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids . . . we’ve got to start taking action.”

Professor Dodson, a professor at the Australian National University’s College of Law and director of the university’s National Centre for Indigenous Studies, said Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history should be included on primary and secondary school curriculums.

“We have to teach . . . from the very beginning right through to university about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history,” he said.

“That helps us to create a more complete nation, a more cohesive people.”

Professor Dodson said the native title process needed to be streamlined and to include a greater emphasis on ensuring social and economic growth.

“We’ve got 569 outstanding native title claims that are taking over a decade each to solve,” he said.

“We need a settlement process for native title that emphasises economic and social development.”

Former speakers at the Sir John Quick lecture include author and public speaker Don Watson and award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster David Suzuki.