1967 REFERENDUM

STIMULUS TO CHANGE Stimulus to Change Australia is shocked—petitions In early 1957 the Grayden Report revealed that malnutrition, blindness and disease were all commonplace among the Aboriginal people of the Warburton Ranges region , about 300km west of the border between Western Australia and South Australia. Australia’s shocked white population learned for the first time about the appalling living conditions of Aboriginal people whom they had scarcely heard of before

Historical events that influenced the 1967 Referendum 1957 Test explosions of atomic bombs at Maralinga, South Australia 1962 The Commonwealth Electoral Act is amended to give the right to vote to all Aboriginal people. 1966 Stockmen and women at Wave Hill walk off in protest against intolerable working conditions and inadequate wages. 1966 Charles Perkins leads Freedom Ride by Aboriginal people and students through NSW in support of Aboriginal rights

Referenda Success Prior to the 1967 referendum, only 7 out of forty three referendums had been successful. Can you suggest why this might be?

Aboriginal Rights by 1967 NSW VIC SA WA QLND NT YES NO Award wages Voting Rights YES NO Marry Freely Control own Children Move freely Own property Award wages Alcohol allowed Pensions * Citizenship*

On 27 May 1967 a Federal referendum was held On 27 May 1967 a Federal referendum was held. The first question, referred to as the ‘nexus question' was an attempt to alter the balance of numbers in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The second question was to determine whether two references in the Australian Constitution, which discriminated against Aboriginal people, should be removed. The sections of the Constitution under scrutiny were: 51. The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to:- (xxvi) The people of any race, other than the aboriginal people in any State, for whom it is necessary to make special laws. 127. In reckoning the numbers of the people of the Commonwealth, or of a State or other part of the Commonwealth, aboriginal natives should not be counted

END discriminatory laws It will allow the Commonwealth Government to make laws for all Aboriginal Australians. This would also allow Federal budget money to be spent on Aboriginal Australians

The Nexus Question In the same referendum, voters were asked to consider another amendment to the Constitution . The Amendment was S24 which stipulated that the House of Representatives must always be twice the size of the Senate. The voters rejected the proposal and the motion received just 40% of the national vote

People involved Jessie Street Faith Bandler Gordan Bryant Doug Nicholls Harold Holt

Change Through Protest- FCAATSI The Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders was a group of Indigenous and non Indigenous people who headed the campaign for Constitutional change in the lead up to 1967

Aim The aim was to collect 25, 000 signatures on a petition to be presented to the House of Representatives. The campaigners in fact raised over 100,000 signatures

DECONSTRUCTING THE SOURCE 1.Which group produced the poster? 2. What is the purpose of the Poster? 3. How is the message achieved? 4. Who is the target audience?

BI PARTISAN SUPPORT

Which state saw the largest majority yes vote as a percentage? Which State saw the smallest margin? What is meant by a double majority?

The Result The overall result was 90.8% majority in favour of the change, an unheard of result in the history of referenda

What was the referendum not about? The 1967 Referendum did not give Aboriginal people the right to vote. This right was already introduced in 1962. did not grant them citizenship. By the time of the referendum, most of the specific federal and state laws discriminating against Aboriginal people had been repealed . was not about equal rights for Aboriginal people. The Constitutional change would not impact at all on laws governing Aboriginal people. However, campaigners hoped that a ‘yes’ vote would require the Commonwealth government to enact reforms which would eventually achieve better rights for Aboriginal people . Clever campaigners nonetheless understood to introduce these aspects into their campaigns and use them to favour a ‘yes’ vote

Short Term Impact For the first 5 years after the referendum the Commonwealth government did not exercise its power in any significant way. The first major exercise was the establishment of The Office of Aboriginal Affairs and its first minister was W C Wentworth

For Aborigines For Aboriginal people It shows a major change in government attitudes and Australian citizens’ attitudes towards Aborigines and their rights. It meant uniformity of laws for Aborigines as they were no longer under the individual states’ laws which were very different on some issues. Having been recognised as citizens over the previous five or so years, and being counted in the census, confirmed their status as Australian citizens. There was an expectation that Aborigines would get equal rights and opportunities as a result of the passing of this referendum. It did not happen but it was a beginning. It opened the door for other advances. It brought representation in parliament. It brought membership of parliament. It brought better employment. It brought better education. It opened up the possibility of land rights and native title. It opened up the possibility for less discrimination. It brought equal opportunity. It recognised Aboriginal law.

For Australia It was a major change in attitude and approach to Aboriginal affairs from both government and the people. It opened the door to multiculturalism through the acceptance and tolerance of the rights of Aborigines to retain and practise their culture being carried over into acceptance and tolerance of other races

Tangible yet long term results Aboriginal Land Fund Act 1974 Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Act 1984 Native Title Act 1993 Land Fund and Indigenous Land Corporation Act 1995

40TH ANNIVERSARY 2007 The recent anniversary saw the referendum under the microscope. Aboriginal and Islander people saw the passage of the referendum as irrelevant to their lives or as having a negative effect. Elizabeth Hoffman, interviewed in 1997, commented that the referendum 'didn’t really affect everyday life ─ you still now have to fight for things. We had to fight for anything we ever got and are still doing it'. David Mowaljarlai argued that the referendum 'made things worse for my people. Drinking and those sorts of freedoms have caused things to be much worse'. Bev Elphick saw the referendum as only having created more politicians

Gary Williams remembers the 67 referendum http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-vX5kNpyLU

Donald Horne , for most of the twentieth-century "the prevailing culture in Australia included racist, anglocentric-imperialist, puritan, sexist, politically genteel acquiescent, capitalist, bureaucratic and developmentalist strains."3 It was during the period 1965-1975 that the skids were put under this "prevailing culture",

“It was such a wonderful thing “It was such a wonderful thing. You know, in the end, this tiny little handful of people, practically penniless, achieved in getting 90.2% of the voting population of Australia to vote in favour of the change we required And I...what was a great thrill was that good results were coming in from country towns where the prejudiced had always been most prevalent. And it was exciting to see these country towns voting just the way we wanted them to vote. (Laughs) Oh, God. When I think of it, it was very exciting. (Laughs) I think the most rewarding aspect of all is that it brought black and white together with more respect for each other and more respect for the country as a whole.” Faith Bandler

If they put the same referendum today, it would fail dismally, because there’s too much racism in Australian Society and people are more sensitized in a negative sense to Aboriginal Affairs…and I think when people say, ”Give Aborigines a fair go today, they say Yeah, give a fair go providing you don’t spend any money Charles Perkins

The Myth of 1967 Referendum Bain Attwood and Andrew Markus “The changes resulting from the referendum were much more limited than is generally recognized. Certainly they barely warrant the amount of celebration they usually occasion…Those most responsible for the referendum hoped that federal governments would implement a program of special rights for Aboriginal people so that they could truly become Australian citizens. This was the spirit of the Referendum. To the present, no Australian Government has ever properly realized it.”

A FINAL NOTE Although the 1967 Referendum has failed politically, historically it was, and remains, a triumph of the human spirit that continues to inspire generations of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike. It is one of the glowing coals that keep the fires burning. Creative spirits website