Effects Of Assimilation On Aboriginal Civil Rights

Native people were included in the census after the referendum. The Freedom Ride and the following referendum showed the influence of young people's direct action in changing public debate on issues of social justice. It is obvious that this incident significantly changed Aboriginal people's rights and

On 27 May 1967 a Federal referendum was held. The 1967 referendum did not give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples the right to vote. That right had been legislated for Commonwealth elections in 1962, with the last State to provide Indigenous enfranchisement being Queensland in 1965. Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders have had multiple campaigns to try and uphold the same rights as white people. The 1967 referendum was a public vote to determine the public 's opinions of two aspects of the Australian constitution (a written statement which outlines the country 's rules and regulations) that related directly to Indigenous Australians.

In 1901 the six British colonies of Australia came together to form the Commonwealth of Australia. This federation was the result of intercolonial discussion, referendums and political debate with a range of different issues . However given the country’s history surrounding Asia and Pacific workers and the conflicts due to their presence, it was agreed that the new nation of Australia would be ‘white’ only. Despite Indigenous Australians and Chinese who were already in residence, colonialists aspired to keep the heritage and culture of Australia British and as a result there would be no home for non-European in Australia . After Australia was federated on January 1st 1901 the government passed the Immigration Restriction Bill which became known

Australia had signed up to the International Covenant on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1966, but the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 was the first time that anti-discrimination legislation was laid down in the Federal parliament. The legislation meant that any previous discriminatory laws were automatically overturned and that that no restrictions, exclusions or distinctions could be made in Australian society on the basis of race, colour, nationality or descent. Whitlam saw it as a victory over bigotry and prejudice, and not just solely aimed at improving the lives of the Indigenous peoples. Many people also saw the events of 1975 as another milestone on the road towards equality for the Aboriginal

As stated in the handout given in class, “The referendum provided a vehicle for change by empowering the Commonwealth to protectionism and assimilation.” Before the referendum, the States of Australia made laws which discriminated against and denied basic human rights such as being free to live where they wish, having access to education, receiving the same wages as non-Aboriginal people, etc. to Aboriginal people. The referendum did not guarantee such change — For the first five years after the referendum the Australian Government did not make any significant changes, as the referendum did not actually give the government full responsibility to make positive changes for Aboriginal people, it simply “opened the door for Australian Government involvement” as put by the Australian Constitution and 1967 Referendum Fact Sheet. The ongoing political commitment would be the only way to make sure the changes stayed in place; Something that fell short 50 years

Here, the Aboriginal Protection Act 1869 (VIC) was made to establish an inclusive scheme of control over the lives of First Australians (Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, 2014). New South Wales’ equivalent to this was the Aborigines Protection Act 1909 (NSW) which was to provide protection and care of Aboriginal People but rather legislated for the control of their lives. The policies of assimilation directly related to and relied on segregation and protectionism policies. This policy reflected the views of all governmental bodies of Australia, in that they thought it necessary that Aboriginal people were to eventually exercise the equivalent method of living as non-Indigenous Australians and to live as members of a sole community appreciating the same rights and freedoms, accept the same responsibilities, observing similar duties and be predisposed to the same loyalties, hopes and

When looking at these direct factors of why the protest started, it is necissary to understand that more then 100 years of injustices had also lead to this turning point. On the 26th of January 1972 (Australia Day) former prime minister Billy Mcmahan announced that his government would never grant Aboriginal land rights (Tan, 2016). Mcmahon had chosen the most provocative day possible to announce this as many Aboriginal people consider this to be invasion day. In doing so it can Aboriginal activists were forced to make some sort of stand, they chose to do this in the form of a non-violent protest on the lawns parliament house in Canberra. Four activists from Redfern went there and sat on the front lawn in with, at the start, only a beach umbrella (Tan, 2016).

With the prohibition of the Indian Act, it restricted Aboriginal people in order to obtain their rights, due to being unable to obtain a lawyer, which could represent them to order to prosecute the government to gain their rights that were stripped from them, due to being the “Others”. The government in many ways made sure to alienate the Aboriginals in order not have a voice which could be heard and allowed the support of people in order to help them, but the Aboriginals were barbaric people they needed to be civilized, this is where “The government took for itself the power to mould, unilaterally, every aspect of life on the reserve and to create whatever infrastructure it deemed necessary to achieve the desired end — assimilation through

Other countries were also critical of the casual racism that this policy created. The intention of this essay is to argue that the White Australian policy had a significant impact on Australian culture and Australian attitude towards multiculturalism. Furthermore, this essay intends to prove that the White Australia Policy was a tragedy for Australian Multiculturalism. The White Australian policy included such acts as: the immigration restrictions act 1901 and the Pacific Islanders Labourers act 1901.

The Stolen generation and protection policy has made a huge impact on all aboriginals lives, forcing them to adapt to white culture and forget about their indigenous heritage. The protection policy began in 1909 when the aborigines protection board believed that separating Aborigines from the white population would keep them safe from their savage lifestyles. In 1915 the protection board was given orders to remove aboriginal children without parental consent or a court order. These children were separated from their families and placed in institutions or adopted into white families where they were forced to forget about their indigenous history.

Critically analyse the impact of Civil Rights activists in the struggle for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People’s freedoms in the period 1945-present. Shirley Colleen Smith Shirley Colleen Smith had a broad, substantially positive impact on the struggle for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People’s freedoms and rights. Her activism and grapple for First Nations freedoms include her advocation for land rights.

One of the most important changes was the acceptance that Aboriginal People could be assimilated into ‘White’ culture. Although blatant racial discrimination was disappearing, systemic racial discrimination remained . ‘White’ culture was seen to be the quintessential ideal for Australian society with Aboriginal Australians seen to be unsophisticated and in need of industrialization

One change was to section 51, which stated the legislative powers of the Parliament, which did not include Aboriginal Australians. The second change was to section 127, which stated that “In reckoning the numbers of the people of the Commonwealth, or of a state or another part of the Commonwealth, aboriginal natives shall not be counted”. After these changes, Indigenous Australians could be counted in the census and the government could provide welfare and empowerment to the Aboriginal

It was centuries after colonisation before they could vote, practice religious beliefs and travel. There are still issues surrounding land rights. The Native Americans and Aboriginal Australians share very similar backgrounds. The one advantage Native Americans had was legal recognition about a century prior to the Aboriginal

The fighting which took place between 1788 and 1934 was to claim aboriginal land in the name of the King of England to set up a new colony. This has created ongoing problems between the modern day aboriginals and the government. In the mid twentieth century aboriginals had to work very hard to be accepted as people living in this country and be included in the constitution. Even today there are people who work to get aboriginals fully recognised as the first people of