What was the yes campaign for the 1967 Referendum?
The 1967 Referendum sought to change two sections of the Constitution in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 90.77 per cent of Australian voters voted ‘Yes’ to the changes.
Who started the 1967 referendum?
1967—Prime Minister Harold Holt announces that the Constitution Alteration Bill has passed in both Houses of Parliament allowing for a referendum to be called on whether or not Australia should change the wording of the constitution. The date is set for 27 May 1967.
What happened as a result of the 1967 referendum?
90.77% of voters voted in favour of the ‘Constitution Alteration (Aboriginals) 1967’, which was the highest ‘yes’ vote ever recorded in a federal referendum.
What did Jessie Street do in the 1967 referendum?
Jessie also played a pivotal role in the campaign for the 1967 referendum which amended the Australian constitution to enable Aborigines to be counted in the census.
Did the 1967 referendum give the right to vote?
The 1967 referendum did not give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples the right to vote. This right had been legislated for Commonwealth elections in 1962, with the last State to provide Indigenous enfranchisement being Queensland in 1965.
Why did some people vote no for the 1967 referendum?
The ‘no’ vote was most dominant in states that had the largest Aboriginal population and have been criticised most for their treatment of Aboriginal people. Up to 1967, in 60 years only 5 out of 26 referendum questions have been carried.
Who was excluded from voting in the 1967 referendum?
other than the aboriginal people in any State …” in section 51(xxvi) and the whole of section 127 were removed, allowing First Nations people to be included in the census, and giving federal Parliament the power to make laws in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Why was the 1967 referendum so successful?
The 1967 referendum did not end discrimination in Australia but instead opened a door for the Australian Government to make specific laws that applied to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that could assist in addressing inequalities.
What were some yes arguments in the 1967 referendum?
The referendum attracted more than 90% of voters in favour of deleting the two references to Aborigines in Australia’s Constitution. Campaigners for a “Yes” vote successfully argued those references were discriminatory and debarred Aboriginal people from citizenship.
Who voted no in the 1967 referendum?
What year were indigenous allowed to vote in Australia?
For much of Australia’s political history, tens of thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people couldn’t vote in state or federal elections. In 1962 the Australian Parliament passed a landmark Act to give all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people the option to enrol and vote in federal elections.
When did indigenous get the vote in Australia?
Indigenous Australians were granted the universal right to vote in federal elections in 1962 under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1962.