Underpinning Factors of the 1967 Referendum in Australia - Article Example

University Underpinning Factors of the 1967 Referendum In Australia Submitted to …………. In partial fulfilment Of the requirements for the completion of the course, By Name City, State Date Introduction For along time in history, the Aboriginal communities in Australia are natives of the region and have been minorities for a long time in the history of the country. They have been subject to discrimination and neglect by the larger population. They were the original land owners and were subjected to colonial cruelties which saw their numbers reduce drastically. Over the years they struggled to have their rights recognised and discrimination against them stopped. This led to a referendum where Australians were to vote for or against Aboriginal inclusion in the Australian laws and censuses. It also sought to decide whether they would be given equal rights and privileges like the rest of Australians1. In this essay the underpinning factors that finally led to the referendum will be discussed in depth. The roles they played, leading to the referendum will also be argued out. The essay will first argue the need for the referendum. Secondly it will argue out the role of the international community.it will also evaluate the role of the Aboriginal movements and activists and finally the freedom rides. The 1967 referendum In 1967, the Australian constitution was subjected to a referendum vote which sought to address the plight of Aboriginal communities in the country. Among the issues that were being voted for included the prevention of the federal government from making laws to govern the affairs of the Aborigines. The vote also intended to include Aboriginal communities in the country’s national census. For long these communities were discriminated and were not associated with. The referendum marked an important conciliatory chapter between Aborigines and non Aborigines in Australia. Before the referendum was conducted, there were several issues that led to recognition of the Aborigine minorities and the need to cater for their rights as Australians. In the 1960s, the world was experiencing a revolution in terms of minority rights with the African American community receiving a lot of attention and activism in America. The revolution was replicated elsewhere in the world where minorities were discriminated and treated as lesser beings by their follow countrymen. The event is very crucial to Australians and the Aboriginal communities especially. Australians voted overwhelmingly for the referendum with a majority, over 90% of voters supporting the proposed amendments2. This has been an all time high record in the history of the country and even with over forty constitutional proposals that have been held thereafter. The referendum marked the end of an era of discrimination and neglect and the affected communities could now identify themselves as equals among Australians with similar rights and privileges. The white Australians who are a majority in the country also showed the willingness to socially and politically accommodate the minority, led by the federal government. The old constitution Before the amendments were made, the constitution was an old one as it was drafted and implemented by the British government in the 1900s. The British made constitution divided Australia into six federal states of separate colonies. In the constitution, the power of federal government, judiciary and parliament were outlined. It also had several mention f the Aboriginal communities. In one of the sections of the old constitution, it mentioned that the parliament had the poor to make laws to maintain peace and order in the country with respect to any race apart fro the Aboriginal people. The law deemed that the communities required special kinds of laws compared to other citizens in the country. In another section, the constitution stated that when accounting for people in the commonwealth states or countries, the Aboriginal communities were not to be included. Aborigines did not only face discrimination from fellow countrymen but also from the law as well. The provisions in the constitution reflected that the commonwealth did not recognise the Aborigines and did not have the power to make laws for them like other people in the states. It also did not have the power to recognise their numbers by counting them in the census. The number of people in a state determined the number of seats that a state would have in parliament and it was felt that including Aborigines would distort these numbers. There was the widespread view that their population was weak and would be wiped out in time. They were, therefore seen to be dying community and were incapable of voting3. This meant that they were viewed just like animals and had no right to citizenship and the right and privileges that come with it. Rights of Aborigines before the constitution Before the referendum in 1950s and 1960s the government policy towards the minority Aborigines was assimilation. This meant that they were supposed to abandon their cultures and ways of life and adopt those of the mainstream white Australian population. They were to be absorbed into the society and engage in their norms, cultures and ways of life. This was adopted by al states in Australia between the 1930s to the 1960s. Aboriginal organisations and uprisings were opposed to this move as they pointed out the paradoxical double standards that were implemented against them. They questioned how the government expected them to be assimilated into the rest of the community given the discriminatory living conditions in terms of wages, access to social amenities and social benefits. The law was clear that despite the assimilation efforts, Aborigines would never be equal to other Australians. The government and society at the time expected them to improve their ways of life to the standards of acceptability by the rest of the Australian community. This was despite their low level wages that could only maintain a substandard kind of living. Even with the assimilation policy, there were many barriers that affected the process. First, the Aborigines resided in reserves and missions that were controlled by other Australians. Those that lived in the rural areas were under constant rules and regulations that spelled out where they could work, live, marry or interact with rest off Australians. Their movements and activities were also closely monitored and those who went against them were confined to federal prisons and jails. Though Aboriginal activists had made some significant steps towards their recognition, they still faced challenges in terms of movement, civil rights, social rights to education and appropriate living standards. This and other factors all led to the referendum in 1967. The international community realise that different parts of the world were experiencing human rights violation and discrimination at the time. The Aborigine activists over the years from the 1930s had a significant role that finally led to the amendment of the constitution in 19674. The role of the United Nations and international community On realising that the world had many violation of human right in many countries, The United Nations adopted the declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The declaration was inspired by the cruelty and massive abuse of human right by the Nazism regime in Germany. Australia was one of the first signatories to this declaration despite the massive and wide open discrimination against Aborigines. In the declaration, the United Nations expected countries to condemn ethnicity and racial abuse of any manner. It also outlined the rights and benefits that citizens of any given country should haves. Despite being a signatory to the declaration, the treatment of indigenous Australians was still below the expected levels and Aborigine continued to languish in poverty and discrimination. This denial of rights among the indigenous groups did not go unnoticed by the international community where uprisings and civil rights movements were beginning to emerge. In an effort to show commitment to the declaration, Australia effected some changes in the disbursement of social benefits like pensions and medical allowances. For Aborigines, they did not receive them directly but had to access them through the missions and reserves they were held in. the argument was that the indigenous communities were very illiterate and were not in a position to handle their own affairs. Efforts bore some fruits in 1962 when Aborigines were allowed to vote. However, there were no efforts to educate them on the matter and many remained unaware that the change had been made. Even by the time the referendum was taking place, the level of awareness and enrolment among the minorities were low. At around the same time the international media exposed the evils of discrimination in the United States where African American people were discriminated by the majority white people. They too were living under deplorable conditions and did not access similar amenities, jobs, healthcare, education and other facilities like the whites did. There were schools and hospitals that were only meant for the back. This was after along struggle with black slavery and discrimination that dates back to centuries ago. There was also the issue of Nazism in Germany where Jews and other minority groups were discriminated, maimed and even killed, based o their racial and religious affiliations. The international community raised alarms over these actions and pushed for reforms to take place in the affected countries. This led human rights and activist groups to put in their word on the issue in a bid to fight for minority rights. The role of movements and activists Though the United Nations formed a significant foundation towards the referendum in 1967, the Aborigines themselves played a very huge and significant role in fighting for their rights. This was despite the hurdles that the government put in their way in terms of what they could do and could not do. They themselves realised that they were being treated as lesser beings and came up with concerted efforts that finally paid off with a referendum. In the years leading to the referendum in 1967, it became apparent from many sources, both inside and outside Australia that it was necessary to repeal discriminatory laws in the constitution and secure citizenship and right for the indigenous communities. By 1962, some of the most racist and discriminatory regulations had been removed and Aborigines were allowed to votes. There were organisations that fought for Aboriginal rights and their efforts finally triumphed in 1967. One of these is the Aborigines Advancement League5. The ALL was formed in 1932 and was founded by William Cooper. The organisation was open to all Aborigines at a fee of one shilling annually. The movement was cofounded by other members such as Shadrach James, Morgan Kaleb, William Onis among others. The organisation prepared a petition which was to be presented to King George V, asking direct representation in the commonwealth parliament to give the minorities a political recognition. A petition containing 1841 signatures was given to the prime minister to forward to the king but it was never forwarded. The reason given was that the constitution did not allow the authorities to pass legislation for the purpose of Aborigines. The league movement also presented the interior minister of the time in 1935 with a list of demands which bore little success. The result was the calling for a state conference where the protection of Aborigines was discussed. The anniversary of the landing of the first fleet in Australia was in 1937 recognised as a mourning day among the Aborigines; this was in an effort to get the attention f the federal government to consult with them over their plights. The League movement finally led to the formation of the Victorian Aborigines Advancement League (VAAL) which sought to address the levels of hunger, disease and malnutrition that were rampant among the Aborigines6. From its commencement in 1957 the league grew rapidly and gained massive popularity among the minorities. The VAAL communicated its issues t the public both locally and nationally through their journal the Smoke Signals. The movement formed legal teams that fought for the release of Aborigines who were imprisoned on discriminatory grounds. It also mobilised people to stop the government from leasing their land to white farers and instead have their cultural land returned to them (Young 1992, 146)7. The movement also offered support in terms of finances, education, and social amenities to Aborigines. It also solved disputes with employers especially strikes over wages at mines and factories8. All this led to one of their most important and significant role to the referendum in 1958. The movement formed another organisation that came to be known as the Federal Council of Aboriginal Advancement ( FCAA)9. The main role of the new movement was to fight for equal rights for Aborigines and other Australians. This included having equal education, healthcare and access to amnesties, food and adequate healthcare. Their other agenda was to see that all Aborigines received equal pay and similar terms of employment with other Australians. Aborigines that were impaired physically or had been detribalised should also receive free education and social amenities like other Australians. The movement collected over 100,000 signatures which were presented to parliament in 94 different petitions10. In the petitions, they noticed that the laws governing their conduct of activities in terms of interaction with the rest of the country were highly oppressive. The fact that they were not allowed to enjoy alcoholic beverages or travel freely in the states was also petitioned. This saw the preparation of a bill which only sought to recognise Aborigines in censuses. The recognition of Aboriginal oppression was gaining a lot of attention all over Australia and individual leaders were taking the matter seriously and lobbied for change and recognition of Aborigines. The freedom rides In 1965, activists from Sydney University organised series of campaigns dubbed the Freedom Rides. The campaign sought to educate the public of the inconsistencies that were going on in their own nation. The pressure was on the government to do something about the plight of indigenous communities in the country. Such rallies and campaigns in the Freedom Rides were conducted in the Northern towns. The freedom rides made news headline in local and national news majority of Australians were shocked that there were people living in their own country under such deplorable conditions under the watch of the government. The towns that were highlighted in the plight included Lismore, Walget, Kempsey and Moree. The issues that were highlighted I the media were the discrimination from cinemas, barring from clubs and hotels and refusal of services in shops and social institutions11. The freedom rides opened the eyes of many and received support from churches, trade unions and clubs all over the country. These groups played a huge role in campaigning and educating people on the need to have a ‘YES’ vote during the referendum. Conclusion The Aboriginal movements played a huge role in fighting for their rights and finally securing a referendum that would make them equals to other Australians as well. Their role in the struggle can be termed as the most underpinning and the most significant role that led to the conduct of the referendums. They also played a huge role in partnering with other Australians to make the vote an overwhelming yes. Were it not for the FCAA, the plight of the Aborigines would have stayed blind to a majority of Australians. The efforts of leaders such as William cooper and others ensured that the future of Aborigines was to be treated as equal Australians. The passing of the referendum was a milestone in the recognition of Aborigine rights. The fight had taken many concerted efforts and finally Aborigines could associate themselves as equal Australians. Immediately after the referendum, there were efforts to make practical changes that had been passed in the constitution. The struggle continued especially in the fight for land rights tat was overly abused in the past. There are still significant inequalities between Aborigines and the Australians but the situation is much better than in the past. To a large extent, Aborigines are responsible for their own freedom with support from other activists in the country as well as the international community. References Andrews, Shirley. "Assimilation – Economy Size,." Smoke Signals, 1964: 11. Attwood , Bain , and Andrew Markus. The 1967 Referendum, or When Aborigines Didn’t get the Vote. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press, 1997. Bryant, Gordon. "The Economic and Political rights of the Australian Aborigine." Smoke Signals 6, no. 2 (1967): 13. Curthoys, Ann. "The NSW Freedom Rides." Agora 46, no. 1 (2011): 9-27. Hirst, John. Australia's Democracy: A Short History. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin, 2002. Memmott, P, and C Chambers. "Homeless People: Indigenous/Aboriginal." International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home, 2012: 97-103. Miller, Frederic P, Agnes F Vandome, and J McBrewster . Australian Referendum, 1967 (Aboriginals). Saarbrücken: VDM Publishing, 2010. Nile, Richard. Australian Aborigines. London : Hodder Children's Division, 2010. Thomson, Neil . "Australian aboriginal health and health-care." ocial Science & Medicine 18, no. 11 (1984,): 939-948. Victorian Aborigines Advancement League. Victims or Victors? The Story of the Aborigines Advancement League. South Yarra: Hyland House, 1985. Young, Elspeth A. "Aboriginal land rights in Australia: expectations, achievements and implications." Applied Geography 12, no. 2 (1992): 146-161. Read More