1967 Australian referendum (Aboriginals)

the second part of the 1967 referendum, regarding certain matters on Indigenous Australians the first part, increasing the number of Members in the House of Representatives 1967 Australian referendum (Parliament) 1967 constitutional referendum on the legal status of Indigenous Australians January 2014August 2020 1967 Australian Aboriginals Referendum 1967 05 27 y Australia Question 2Do you approve the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled"An Act to alter the Constitution so as to omit certain words relating to the People of the Aboriginal Race in any State and so that Aboriginals are to be counted in reckoning the Population"? 5,183,113 527,007 5,801,584 6,182,585 350px Results by electorate 350px Results by state Amendment Passed The second question of the 1967 Australian referendum of 27May 1967, called by the Holt government, related to Indigenous Australians. Voters were asked whether to give the Commonwealth Parliament the power to make special laws for Indigenous Australians,The 1967 referendum Ergo http://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/explore-history/fight-rights/indigenous-rights/1967-referendum 2020-10-14 ergo.slv.vic.gov.au and whether Indigenous Australians should be included in official population counts for constitutional purposes.Constitution Alteration (Parliament) 1967 and Constitution Alteration (Aboriginals) 1967 Referendums: The Arguments For and Against the Proposed Alterations Together with a Statement Showing the Proposed Alterations http://classic.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/other/IndigLRes/1967/4.html Commonwealth of Australia Austlii 15 August 2020 1967Sawer 1966 25–26,30Arcioni 2012 300–301 The term "the Aboriginal Race" was used in the question."Aboriginal race" was used in the wording of section 51 (xxvi), relevant to the power to make laws, however the term was not defined in the Constitution. The ballot paper did not clarify the term and also used the term "Aboriginal people". Justice Deane in the High Court in the 1983 case of Commonwealth v. Tasmania interpreted "Aboriginal race" in section 51 (xxvi) "..to refer to all Australian Aboriginals collectively... By 'Australian Aboriginal' I mean, in accordance with what I understand to be the conventional meaning of that term, a person of Aboriginal descent, albeit mixed, who identifies himself as such and who is recognized by the Aboriginal community as an Aboriginal."Commonwealth v Tasmania http://eresources.hcourt.gov.au/showbyHandle/1/11578 High Court of Australia 1 July 1983 [1983] HCA 21 5 August 2020 Note Technically the referendum question was a vote on the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginals) 1967 that would amend section51(xxvi) and repeal section127.Constitution Alteration (Aboriginals) Act 1967 https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C1967A00055 The Federal Register of Legislation 10 August 1967 15 August 2020 The amendments to the Constitution were overwhelmingly endorsed, winning 90.77% of votes cast and having majority support in all six states.Lewis Balderstone Bowan 2006 224–228 The amendment became law on 10August 1967. Background In 1901, the attorney-general, Alfred Deakin, provided a legal opinion on the meaning of section 127 of the Constitution of Australia.Deakin Alfred Opinion Number 13 – Aboriginal natives whether half-castes to be included in count for reckoning population https://legalopinions.ags.gov.au/legalopinion/opinion-13 Legal Opinions Australian Government Solicitor 17 September 2020 29 August 1901 Section 127 excluded "aboriginal natives" from being counted when reckoning the numbers of the people of the commonwealth or a state. His legal advice was that "half-castes" were not "aboriginal natives". Prior to 1967, censuses asked a question about Aboriginal race to establish numbers of "half-castes" and "full-bloods".Ross 1999 6In censuses prior to 1947, Torres Strait Islanders were regarded as aboriginal. In the 1947 Census, Torres Strait Islanders were considered to be Polynesian and in 1954 and 1961 censuses were considered to be Pacific Islanders. In the 1966 census, Torres Strait Islanders were regarded as aboriginal.Ross 1999 5 Note "Full-bloods" were then subtracted from the official population figure in accordance with the legal advice from the attorney-general.Ross 1999 6 Strong activism by individuals and both Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups greatly aided the success of the 1967 referendum in the years leading up to the vote. Calls for Aboriginal issues to be dealt with at the federal level began as early as 1910.Williams Brennan Lynch 2014 987–988 Minimal changes were instigated for Aboriginal rights until the 1960s, where the Yirrkala bark petitions in 1963 and the ensuing Milirrpum v Nabalco Pty Ltd and Commonwealth of Australia (Gove Land Rights Case),Van Krieken 2000 63Milirrpum v Nabalco Pty Ltd and Commonwealth of Australia (1971) 17 FLR Federal Law Reports 141. and Gurindji Strike highlighted the negative treatment of Indigenous workers in the Northern Territory.Williams Brennan Lynch 2014 987–8 From here, the overall plight of Aboriginal Australians became a fundamental political issue.Williams Brennan Lynch 2014 987–988 thumb|right|Gordon Bryant (left), prime minister Harold Holt (third from left) and Bill Wentworth (right) meeting with FCAATSI representatives (l–r) Faith Bandler, Douglas Nicholls, Burnum Burnum, and Winnie Branson On 7 April 1965, the Menzies Cabinet decided that it would seek to repeal section 127 of the Constitution at the same time as it sought to amend the nexus provision, but made no firm plans or timetable for such action. In August 1965, attorney-general Billy Snedden proposed to Cabinet that abolition of section 127 was inappropriate unless section 51(xxvi) was simultaneously amended to remove the words "other than the aboriginal race in any state". He was rebuffed, but gained agreement when he made a similar submission to the Holt Cabinet in 1966. In the meantime, his Liberal colleague Billy Wentworth had introduced a private member's bill proposing inter alia to amend section 51(xxvi). In 1964, the Leader of the Opposition, Arthur Calwell, had proposed such a change and pledged that his party, the Australian Labor Party, would back any referendum to that effect.Bruce Juddery Unsung hero of blacks' progress The Canberra Times 27 May 1997 Bruce Juddery Winnie Branson, who became the first South Australian state secretary of Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI) in 1967,Collaborating for Indigenous Rights 1957-1973 National Museum of Australia 28 April 2008 https://indigenousrights.net.au/people/pagination/winnie_branson 16 February 2026 Source: Rights and Advancement, FCAATSI Newsletter, May-June 1967 along with other FCAATSI members Faith Bandler, Douglas Nicholls, and Burnum Burnum, met with Prime Minister Harold Holt and MPs Gordon Bryant and William Wentworth in Canberra in February 1967 to advocate for the cause.Morse Dana Families of 1967 campaigners reflect on Indigenous rights on referendum anniversary ABC News 27 May 2023 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-27/families-of-1967-campaigners-reflect-on-indigenous-rights/102401514 https://web.archive.org/web/20250506010922/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-27/families-of-1967-campaigners-reflect-on-indigenous-rights/102401514 6 May 2025 live 16 February 2026First Australian campaigners meet with Prime Minister Harold Holt seeking support for the 1967 referendum naa.gov.au 27 May 1967 https://www.naa.gov.au/students-and-teachers/student-research-portal/learning-resource-themes/first-australians/rights-and-freedoms/first-australian-campaigners-meet-prime-minister-harold-holt-seeking-support-1967-referendum 16 February 2026Moran Alexis Verass Sophie The legacy of the pioneers of the 1967 Referendum, 56 years on NITV 27 May 2022 https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/the-legacy-of-the-pioneers-of-the-1967-referendum/i4v3hmchq 16 February 2026 In 1967, the Australian Parliament was unanimous in voting for the alteration bill. The Australian Board of Missions, the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, the Australian Aborigines League, the Australian Council of Churches, (FCAATSI), the Methodist Commission on Aboriginal Affairs, and spokespeople such as Ruby Hammond, Bill Onus, Faith Bandler, and Joe McGinness were some of the many groups and individuals who effectively utilised the media and their influential platforms to generate the momentum needed to achieve a landslide Yes vote.Campaigning for a YES vote http://indigenousrights.net.au/civil_rights/the_referendum,_1957-67/campaigning_for_a_yes_vote National Museum Australia 30 July 2016 16 July 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160716154430/http://indigenousrights.net.au/civil_rights/the_referendum,_1957-67/campaigning_for_a_yes_vote deadWilliams Brennan Lynch 2014 987–988Federation Chamber - BILLS - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Recognition (Sunset Extension) Bill 2015 - Second Reading Hansard Parliament of Australia 1 October 2015 https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard/Hansard_Display?bid=chamber/hansardr/6ab7607c-a6db-41b2-96b3-1b2a6f2fb729/&sid=0248 2 January 2026 Question DO YOU APPROVE the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled "An Act to alter the Constitution so as to omit certain words relating to the People of the Aboriginal Race in any State and so that Aboriginals are to be counted in reckoning the Population"?Image of ballot paper: National Archives of Australia, item barcode 1843611, p 54. Amendments to the Constitution Voters were asked to approve, together, changes to two provisions in the Constitution section 51(xxvi) and section 127. Section 51 begins:Cth act coaca430 Australian Constitution 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:And the extraordinary clauses that follow (ordinarily referred to as heads of power) list most of the legislative powers of the federal parliament. The amendment deleted the text in bold from subsection xxvi (known as the "race" or "races" power): The people of any race, other than the aboriginal race in any State, for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws; The amendment gave the Commonwealth parliament power to make "special laws" with respect to Aboriginal People living in a state; the parliament already had unfettered power in regard to territories under section 122 of the Constitution. Section 127 was wholly removed. Headed "Aborigines not to be counted in reckoning population", it had read: In reckoning the numbers of the people of the Commonwealth, or of a State or other part of the Commonwealth, aboriginal natives shall not be counted.https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/amendment-amid-21.html Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act Amendment to Section 127 24 9 November 2016 Documenting a Democracy Museum of Australian Democracy The Constitution required the calculation of "the people" for several purposes in sections 24, 89, 93 and 105.Sawer 1966 25–26Arcioni 2012 296–297 Section 89 related to the imposition of uniform customs duties and operated until 1901.Arcioni 2012 297Sawer 1966 25 Section 93 related to uniform custom duties after being imposed by section 89 and operated until 1908.Arcioni 2012 297 Section 105 related to taking over state debts and was superseded by section 105A inserted in the Constitution in 1929 following the 1928 referendum.Sawer 1966 25Arcioni 2012 298 Accordingly, in 1967, only section 24 in relation to the House of Representatives had any operational importance to section 127.Sawer 1966 25–26 Section 24 "requires the membership of the House of Representatives to be distributed among the States in proportion to the respective numbers of their people".Sawer 1966 25 The number of people in section 24 is calculated using the latest statistics of the Commonwealth which are derived from the census.Arcioni 2012 300Section 24 Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/coaca430/s24.html Austlii 17 September 2020 Section 51(xi) of the Constitution enabled the Parliament to make laws for "census and statistics" and it exercised that power to pass the Census and Statistics Act 1905.Section 51 Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/coaca430/s51.html Austlii 17 September 2020Arcioni 2012 300 Results + ResultHandbook State Electoral roll Ballots issued For Against Informal Vote % Vote % New South Wales 2,315,828 2,166,507 1,949,036 91.46 182,010 8.54 35,461 Victoria 1,734,476 1,630,594 1,525,026 94.68 85,611 5.32 19,957 Queensland 904,808 848,728 748,612 89.21 90,587 10.79 9,529 South Australia 590,275 560,844 473,440 86.26 75,383 13.74 12,021 Western Australia 437,609 405,666 319,823 80.95 75,282 19.05 10,561 Tasmania 199,589 189,245 167,176 90.21 18,134 9.79 3,935 Total for Commonwealth 6,182,585 5,801,584 5,183,113 90.77 527,007 9.23 91,464 Results Obtained majority in all six states and an overall majority of 4,656,106 votes. Carried At this time, territorians, while able and required to vote in elections, were not permitted to vote in referendums.John Gardiner-Garden The 1967 Referendum—history and myths Research Brief no 11 2007-05-02 Parliamentary Library of Australia http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/library/prspub/JTZM6/upload_binary/jtzm62.pdf 1832-2883 2017-05-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20120113043025/https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/library/prspub/JTZM6/upload_binary/jtzm62.pdf 2012-01-13 live That was not established until 1977.Cth num_act ca1977389 Constitution Alteration (Referendums) 1977. What the referendum did not do thumb|A badge supporting the "Yes" vote, created around the time of the referendum. Give voting rights It is frequently stated that the 1967 referendum gave Aboriginal people Australian citizenship and that it gave them the right to vote in federal elections; however, this was not the case.http://museum.wa.gov.au/referendum-1967/dispelling-myths Dispelling myths Western Australian Museum 20 April 2019 From 1944, Aboriginal people in Western Australia could apply to become citizens of the state,https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-17/aboriginal-stockman-turned-guerrilla-fighter/7934792 Meet James Brennan, an Aboriginal stockman turned guerrilla fighter ABC News Nathan Morris 17 October 2016 2021-07-23 which gave them various rights, including the right to vote. This citizenship was conditional on adopting "the manner and habits of civilised life" and not associating with Aboriginal people other than their parents, siblings, children,referred to in section 4(2) of the Natives (Citizenship Rights) Act 1944 as first-degree relatives. or grandchildren,referred to in section 4(2) of the Natives (Citizenship Rights) Act 1944 as lineal descendants. and could be taken away at any time.WA num_act nra194423o1944352 Natives (Citizenship Rights) Act 1944. This situation continued until 1971.Aboriginal rights http://museum.wa.gov.au/referendum-1967/aboriginal-rights Western Australian Museum 20 April 2019 en Most Indigenous Australians continued to be denied the right to vote in elections for the Australian Parliament even after 1949. The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1949 gave Aboriginal people the right to vote in federal elections only if they were able to vote in their state elections (they were disqualified from voting altogether in Queensland, while in Western Australia and in the Northern Territory the right was conditional), or if they had served in the defence force.Cth num_act cea1949101949260 Commonwealth Electoral Act 1949 The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1962 gave all Aboriginal people the option of enrolling to vote in federal elections.Cth num_act cea1962311962260 Commonwealth Electoral Act 1962 It was not until the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment Act 1983 that voting became compulsory for Aboriginal people, as it was for other Australians.http://www.aph.gov.au/binaries/library/pubs/rp/2001-02/02rp17.pdf Voters and the Franchise: the Federal Story Research Paper no 17 2001–02 1328-7478 2002 Parliamentary Library of Australia 16 May 2015Williams Brennan Lynch 2014 135–136 Aboriginal people (and all other people) living in the Northern Territory were not allowed to vote in the referendum, which remained the case for both the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory until the Constitutional amendment to section 128 after a referendum in 1977. Supersede a "Flora and Fauna Act" Flora and Fauna Act myth It is also sometimes mistakenly stated that the 1967 referendum overturned a Flora and Fauna Act. This is believed to have come from the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974, which controlled Aboriginal heritage, land and culture. The other states had equivalent acts which were managed by various departments, including those relating to agriculture and fishing.2018-03-19 Fact check: Were Indigenous Australians once classified under a flora and fauna act? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-20/fact-check-flora-and-fauna-1967-referendum/9550650 ABC News en-AU Right to be included in the census Section 127 prevented the inclusion of the Indigenous Australians in the official population for constitutional purposes, i.e. their population would not be included in the calculation of the number of seats to assign for each state or in the determination of tax revenue.RMIT RMIT University ABC News 28 September 2023 Historian Geoffrey Blainey says Indigenous people were counted in the census before 1967. Is that correct? en-AU ABC News Australian Broadcasting Corporation https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-28/fact-check-geoffrey-blainey-indigenous-counted-census-1967/102906950 live https://web.archive.org/web/20230928002149/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-28/fact-check-geoffrey-blainey-indigenous-counted-census-1967/102906950 28 September 2023 The section did not prevent the Bureau of Statistics from counting or collecting other information about Indigenous Australians.National Museum of Australia Indigenous referendum https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/indigenous-referendum 2023-03-19 National Museum of Australia enMyths persist about the 1967 referendum https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/myths-persist-about-the-1967-referendum/khvom8xb3 2023-03-19 SBS News 10 March 2014 en From 1911 to 1966 the Bureau had collected information about Indigenous Australians, however this was published separately to the general population.Twomey Anne Anne Twomey (academic) 26 May 2017 The '67 referendum myths need correcting https://www.proquest.com/docview/1902209943 subscription The Australian 28 1902209943 Gardiner-Garden John 2 May 2007 The 1967 Referendum: History and Myths https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/library/prspub/JTZM6/upload_binary/jtzm62.pdf Parliamentary Library Research Brief 11 3–4 1832-2883 Inclusion in the general population was thus important symbolically, but the change did not directly improve the information available to government. Legacy Ninety percent of voters voted yes, and the overwhelming support gave the Federal Government a clear mandate to implement policies to benefit Aboriginal people. Many misconceptions have arisen as to the outcomes of the referendum, some as a result of it taking on a symbolic meaning during a period of increasing Aboriginal self-confidence. It was some five years before any real change occurred as a result of the referendum, but federal legislation has since been enacted covering land rights,Cth num_act alrta1976444 Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976.Cth act nta1993147 Native Title Act 1993. discriminatory practices,Cth act rda1975202 Racial Discrimination Act 1975. financial assistance,Cth num_act sgaa1972991972368 States Grants (Aboriginal Advancement) Act 1972.Cth num_act alca1974274 Aboriginal Loans Commission Act 1974. and preservation of cultural heritage.Cth num_act aatsihpa1984630 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage (Interim Protection) Act 1984. The referendum result had two main outcomes: The first was to alter the legal boundaries within which the Federal Government could act. The Federal Parliament was given a constitutional head-of-power under which it could make special laws "for" Aboriginal people (for their benefit or, as the High Court has made clear, their detriment) in addition to other "races".'Wik Bill challenged following Hindmarsh decision', ABC Radio News, 1 April 1998 The Australian Constitution states that federal law prevails over state law, where they are inconsistent, so that the Federal Parliament could, if it so chose, enact legislation that would end discrimination against Aboriginal people by state governments.Cth num_act aatsidla1975693 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (Queensland Discriminatory Laws) Act 1975. However, during the first five years following the referendum the Federal Government did not use this new power.Whitlam 1985 465 The other key outcome of the referendum was to provide Aboriginal people with a symbol of their political and moral rights. The referendum occurred at a time when Aboriginal activism was accelerating, and it was used as a kind of historical shorthand for all the relevant political events of the time, such as the demands for land rights by the Gurindji people, the equal-pay case for pastoral workers, and the Freedom Rides to end segregation in New South Wales. This use as a symbol for a period of activism and change has contributed to the misconceptions about the effects of the constitutional changes themselves. Motivation behind special laws It was the intention of the government and many voters that this new power was to be only used beneficially. However, in the 1998 case of Kartinyeri v Commonwealth,Kartinyeri v Commonwealth HCA 22 1998 (1998) 195 CLR 337. the High Court did not find that such a restriction on the power existed, with the court being split 2:2 (2 judges not deciding) as to whether or not the power could be used to the detriment of an identified race.Williams George George Williams (lawyer) http://www.aspg.org.au/conferences/darwin2012/Session%201%20-%20Williams.pdf 2012 Race and the Australian Constitution 9 November 2016 Australasian Study of Parliament Group Conference Darwin, Australia https://web.archive.org/web/20170214225955/http://aspg.org.au/conferences/darwin2012/Session%201%20-%20Williams.pdf 14 February 2017 dead The Hindmarsh Island bridge controversy and the Northern Territory Intervention are two circumstances where the post-1967 race power has arguably been used in this way.Race power opens Pandora's box http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/race-power-opens-pandoras-box/news-story/64036ee8711c0c8c87b44cba87cf31eb The Australian Stuart Rintoul 22 December 2011 Symbolic effect The 1967 referendum has acquired a symbolic meaning in relation to a period of rapid social change during the 1960s. As a result, it has been credited with initiating political and social change that was the result of other factors. The real legislative and political impact of the 1967 referendum has been to enable, and thereby compel, the federal government to take action in the area of Aboriginal Affairs. Federal governments with a broader national and international agenda have attempted to end the discriminatory practices of state governments such as Queensland and to introduce policies that encourage self-determination and financial security for Aboriginal people. However, the effectiveness of these policies has been tempered by an unwillingness of most federal governments to deal with the difficult issues involved in tackling recalcitrant state governments.Evatt Elizabeth Elizabeth Evatt Review of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 Ch 5 Effective interaction with State and Territory laws http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/IndigLRes/1996/1.pdf 22 August 1996 It has been argued that Holt, who died not long after the referendum, was setting up a more extensive government response than Gorton enacted.Foley Gary Harold Holt's death and why the 1967 referendum failed Indigenous people https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/may/27/harold-holts-death-and-why-the-1967-referendum-failed-indigenous-people The Guardian 26 May 2017 Land rights Indigenous land rights in Australia The benefits of the referendum began to flow to Aboriginal people in 1972. On 26 January 1972, Aboriginal peoples erected the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on the lawns of the Federal Parliament building in Canberra to express their frustration at the lack of progress on land rights and racial discrimination issues. This became a major confrontation that raised Aboriginal affairs high on the political agenda in the federal election later that year. One week after gaining office, the Whitlam government (1972–1975) established a Royal Commission into land rights for Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory under Justice Woodward.Whitlam 1985 467 Its principal recommendations, delivered in May 1974, were: that Aboriginal people should have inalienable title to reserve lands; that regional land councils should be established; to establish a fund to purchase land with which Aboriginal people had a traditional connection, or that would provide economic or other benefits; prospecting and mineral exploration on Aboriginal land should only occur with their consent (or that of the Federal Government if the national interest required it); entry onto Aboriginal land should require a permit issued by the regional land council. The recommendations were framed in terms to enable application outside the Northern Territory. The Federal Government agreed to implement the principal recommendations, and in 1975, the House of Representatives passed the Aboriginal Councils and Associations Bill and the Aboriginal Land (Northern Territory) Bill, but the Senate had not considered them by the time parliament was dissolved in 1975.Whitlam 1985 469–470 The following year, the Fraser government (1975–1983) amended the Aboriginal Land (Northern Territory) Bill by introducing the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Bill. The new bill made a number of significant changes such as limitation on the operations and boundaries of land councils; giving Northern Territory law effect on Aboriginal land, thereby enabling land rights to be eroded; removing the power of land councils to issue permits to non-Aboriginal people; and allowing public roads to be built on Aboriginal land without consent. This bill was passed as the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976.Whitlam 1985 470 It is significant however that this legislation was implemented at all, given the political allegiances of the Fraser government, and shows the level of community support for social justice for Aboriginal people at the time.Broome 1982 189–190 Use of "race power" in legislation The Whitlam government used its constitutional powers to overrule racially discriminatory state legislation. On reserves in Queensland, Aboriginal people were forbidden to gamble, use foul language, undertake traditional cultural practices, indulge in adultery, or drink alcohol. They were also required to work without payment.Broome 1982 178–179 In the Aboriginal Courts in Queensland the same official acted as judge as well as the prosecuting counsel.Lippmann 1994 Defendants almost invariably pleaded guilty as pleas of not guilty were more than likely to lead to a longer sentence.Broome 1982 179 The Whitlam government, using the race power, enacted the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (Queensland Discriminatory Laws) Act 1975 to override the state laws and eliminate racial discrimination against Aboriginal people. However, no federal government ever enforced this Act.Pilger 1990 46 The race power was also used by the Whitlam government to introduce affirmative action in favour of Aboriginal people. It established schemes whereby Aboriginal people could obtain housing, loans, emergency accommodation and tertiary education allowances. It also increased funding for the Aboriginal Legal Service enabling twenty-five offices to be established throughout Australia.Whitlam 1985 473–474 The race power gained in the 1967 referendum has been used in several other pieces of significant Federal legislation. One of the pieces of legislation enacted to protect the Gordon River catchment used the race power but applied it to all people in Australia. The law prohibited anyone from damaging sites, relics and artefacts of Aboriginal settlement in the Gordon River catchment.Cth num_act whpca1983427 World Heritage Properties Conservation Act 1983. In the Tasmanian Dam Case,HCA 21 1983 Commonwealth v Tasmania (1983) 158 CLR 1 the High Court held that even though this law applied to all people and not only to Aboriginal people, it still constituted a special law.G.M. Bates Environmental Law in Australia Butterworths Pty Ltd, Sydney 1987 In the 1992 Mabo judgment, the High Court of Australia established the existence of Native Title in Australian Common Law.HCA 23 1992 Mabo v Queensland (No 2) (1983) 158 CLR 1. Using the race power, the Keating Government enacted the Native Title Act 1993 and successfully defended a High Court challenge from the Queensland Government. E.G. Whitlam Dragging the Chain 1897–1997: The Second Vincent Lingiari Memorial Lecture 1997 http://www.ntu.edu.au/cincrm/whitlam.html dead https://web.archive.org/web/19981202044603/http://www.ntu.edu.au/cincrm/whitlam.html 2 December 1998 Blame shifting In granting the Commonwealth a broad power to legislate in regards to Indigenous Australians, responsibilities for areas traditionally the purview of the states (such as housing, education and healthcare) was shared between both branches of government.Behrendt Larissa Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal relations Cunneen Chris Libesman Teresa Watson Nicole Oxford University Press 2019 978-0-19-031003-5 2nd Victoria, Australia 301–2 As a result, both levels have sought to blame the other for the continuing disadvantage of Indigenous Australians, while seeking to place the cost and responsibility to manage these issues on the other. Additionally, the disillusion in the face of continuing discrimination despite the overwhelming success of the vote led to a new generation of Indigenous activists, who placed a greater emphasis on their rights as First Peoples as seen through the establishment of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, the focus on sovereignty and land rights. Negative application of "race power" When John Howard's Coalition government came to power in 1996, it intervened in the Hindmarsh Island bridge controversy in South Australia with legislation that introduced an exception to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984,Cth act aatsihpa1984549 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 to allow the bridge to proceed.Cth act hiba1997198 Hindmarsh Island Bridge Act 1997 The Ngarrindjeri challenged the new legislation in the High Court on the basis that it was discriminatory to declare that the Heritage Protection Act applied to sites everywhere but Hindmarsh Island, and that such discrimination – essentially on the basis of race – had been disallowed since the Commonwealth was granted the power to make laws with respect to the "Aboriginal race" as a result of the 1967 Referendum. The High Court decided, by a majority, that the amended s.51(xxvi) of the Constitution still allowed the Commonwealth parliament to make laws either for the benefit or to the detriment of a particular race. When have the discriminatory provisions in the Constitution been used? Australian Human Rights Commission https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/constitutional-reform-faqs-why-reform-constitution-needed 8 January 2015 This decision effectively meant that those people who had believed that they were casting a vote against negative discrimination towards Indigenous people in 1967 had, in fact, allowed the Commonwealth to participate in the discrimination against Indigenous people which had been practised by the States. See also Australia 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum Council for Aboriginal Rights History of Australia Politics of Australia Referendums in Australia Voting rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples Flora and Fauna Act myth Notes References Handbook Handbook of the 44th Parliament (2014) http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22handbook%2Fnewhandbook%2F2014-10-31%2F0049%22 Part 5 - Referendums and Plebiscites - Referendum results Parliamentary Library of Australia Sources Arcioni Elisa Excluding Indigenous Australians from 'The People': A Reconsideration of Sections 25 and 127 of the Constitution Federal Law Review 2012 40 3 287–315 Australian National University Canberra 10.22145/flr.40.3.1 210774854 1444-6928 http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/FedLawRw/2012/12.html 3 August 2020 subscription Broome Richard Aboriginal Australians Allen & Unwin St Leonards 1982 Lewis Wendy Wendy Lewis Balderstone Simon Bowan John Events That Shaped Australia New Holland 2006 9781741104929 Lippmann Lorna Lorna Lippmann Generations of Resistance: Mabo and justice Longman Australia Pty Ltd Melbourne 1994 Pilger John A Secret Country Vintage London 1990 Ross Kate Population Issues, Indigenous Australians, 1996 1999 Australian Bureau of Statistics Canberra 0642256845 4708.0 - Occasional Paper https://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/free.nsf/0/F791BDC99C58DD87CA256ADA000448AB/$File/47080_1996.pdf 17 September 2020 Sawer Geoffrey The Australian Constitution and the Australian Aborigines Federal Law Review 1966 2 1 17–36 Australian National University Canberra 10.1177/0067205X6600200102 159414135 1444-6928 http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/FedLawRw/1967/2.pdf 3 August 2020 Van Krieken Robert From Milirrpum to Mabo: The High Court, Terra Nullius and Moral Entrepreneurship University of New South Wales Law Journal 2000 23 1 http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/UNSWLawJl/2000/3.html 30 July 2016 Whitlam Gough Gough Whitlam The Whitlam Government 1972–1975 Viking Ringwood, Victoria 1985 Williams George George Williams (lawyer) Brennan Sean Lynch Andrew Blackshield and Williams Australian constitutional law and theory : commentary and materials 2014 Federation Press Annendale, NSW 9781862879188 6th Further reading The 1967 Referendum National Library of Australia 30 July 2020 https://www.nla.gov.au/research-guides/the-1967-referendum The 1967 referendum Ergo http://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/explore-history/fight-rights/indigenous-rights/1967-referendum https://guides.slsa.sa.gov.au/Referendum State Library of South Australia Aboriginal Australia – Referendums and Recognition: The 1967 Referendum 4 January 2020 12 March 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220312060433/https://guides.slsa.sa.gov.au/Referendum dead Includes concise summary of referendum, plus detailed section on Legislative Background, starting with the 1891 National Australasian Convention. Tabs to other pages include a long list of Resources https://web.archive.org/web/20200104024628/https://guides.slsa.sa.gov.au/Referendum/Resources 4 January 2020 and a guide to sources relating to the movement for constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians https://web.archive.org/web/20200104025848/https://guides.slsa.sa.gov.au/Referendum/Recognition 4 January 2020 . https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/history/australian-1967-referendum Australian 1967 Referendum 4 January 2020 Creative Spirits . Contains interviews with Aboriginal campaigners. Frank Brennan Frank Brennan (priest) No Small Change: The Road to Recognition for Indigenous Australia University of Queensland Press St Lucia, Queensland 2015 https://books.google.com/books?id=oeALCAAAQBAJ 9780702253324 http://indigenousrights.net.au/ Collaborating for Indigenous Rights: the 1967 Referendum: history and archival resources on the 1967 Referendum March 2007 National Museum of Australia Megan Davis Megan Davis George Williams Everything You Need to Know about the Referendum to Recognise Indigenous Australians https://books.google.com/books?id=M-RzCAAAQBAJ New South Sydney, New South Wales 2015 9781742234168 http://pmtranscripts.dpmc.gov.au/browse.php?did=10831 The 1967 Referendum John Howard John Howard 15 July 1998 24 January 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140124114648/http://pmtranscripts.dpmc.gov.au/browse.php?did=10831 Langton Marcia Marcia Langton 2011 Reading the Constitution Out Loud Meanjin 70 4 18–32 http://meanjin.com.au/articles/post/reading-the-constitution-out-loud 10 May 2012 Discusses the 1967 referendum in the light of the proposed new referendum. http://www.naa.gov.au/about-us/publications/fact-sheets/fs150.aspx The 1967 Referendum: Fact sheet National Archives of Australia https://web.archive.org/web/20110928160437/http://www.naa.gov.au/about-us/publications/fact-sheets/fs150.aspx 28 September 2011 7 September 2008 dead http://www.altlj.org/publications/back-issues/2012-vol-37/product/762-removing-racism-from-australias-constitutional-dna/category_pathway-108 George Williams George Williams (lawyer) Removing racism from Australia's constitutional DNA 2012 37 3 Alternative Law Journal 151 10.1177/1037969X1203700302 145522774 11 October 2012 14 April 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210414133833/http://www.altlj.org/publications/back-issues/2012-vol-37/product/762-removing-racism-from-australias-constitutional-dna/category_pathway-108 dead subscription External links https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/1587528 https://web.archive.org/web/20190420111416/https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/1587528 live 20 April 2019 Referendums to be held on Saturday, 27 May, 1967, on the proposed laws for the alteration of the Constitution entitled Constitution alteration (Parliament) 1967 and Constitution alteration (Aboriginals) 1967 Commonwealth of Australia Commonwealth Government Printer Museums Victoria 6 April 1967 (Scan of first two pages of information booklet, including the two questions) https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C1967A00055/Download Federal Legislation Australian Government Constitution Alteration (Aboriginals) 1967 "1967 referendum: 50 years + counting", digitised recording of an event held at State Library of Queensland reflecting on the 50 year anniversary of the referendum "Don't Just Count Us, Let Us Count!", State Library of Queensland. Exhibition relating to the 1967 Australian Referendum, made in conjunction with the Aboriginal Centre for Performing Arts (ACPA). ! colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #cccccc" | Amendments to the Constitution of Australia |- | style="width: 30%; text-align: center;" | 4th amendmentSocial Services Amendment (1946) Aboriginals amendment 1967 | style="width: 30%; text-align: center;" | Followed bySenate Vacancies AmendmentReferendum amendmentRetirement of Judges amendment(1977) Category:May 1967 in Australia Category:Amendments to the Constitution of Australia Category:Indigenous Australian politics Category:1967 referendums Category:Constitutional referendums in Australia