Australia since Federation Defining Moments, 1901–present

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Investigation 4: The development of Australian democracy and equality: Indigenous rights

4.4 1967 Changing the Constitution

<p>Lobbyists from the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders with Prime Minister Harold Holt (third from left) in February 1967</p>

National Archives of Australia: A1200, L62232

Based on the Defining Moment in Australian history: 1967 A decade of activism succeeds — Indigenous referendum

Under the Australian Constitution of 1901 laws about Aboriginal people could only be made by state governments. These governments could only make laws that applied in their own states. This meant that different laws existed for Aboriginal people in different states. They did not all have the same citizenship rights as non-Indigenous people.

The only way to make laws that helped all Aboriginal people was for the Australian Parliament to have the power to make the laws. For this to happen the people needed to change the Constitution. This can only be done by a popular vote — a referendum.

In 1967 there was a referendum to change the Constitution to allow the Australian Parliament to make laws for all Aboriginal people throughout Australia.

For a referendum to pass it needed to have a majority of the people in Australia voting ‘Yes’ to the change and a majority of the states also had to vote ‘Yes’.

Here are the results showing the percentage of people who voted Yes and No in Australia and in each state:

	Yes	No
New South Wales	91.46	8.54
Queensland	89.21	10.79
South Australia	86.26	13.74
Tasmania	90.21	9.79
Victoria	94.68	5.32
Western Australia	80.95	19.05
Australia	90.77	9.23

^{a. ‘YES’ for Aborigines pamphlet, 1967. Poster featuring Janelle Marshall-Buchanan, National Museum of
Australia

b. Front cover of the 1997 Bringing Them Home report. Cover image by Heide Smith, National Library of
Australia

c. One of the original front gates from the Kinchela Aboriginal Boys Training Home. National Museum of
Australia

d. Young Labor banner on Aboriginal Australians, May Day procession, 1965. Fryer Library, F3400, The
University
of Queensland. creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/au/

e. National Native Title Tribunal map of Australia. Geospatial Services, National Native Title Tribunal

f. St Kilda player Nicky Winmar points to his skin in response to a racist taunt from the crowd. Wayne
Ludbey}

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