Archived News Item
1967 Referendum: 40 years on
May 10, 2007The year 2007, and specifically Sunday May 27, 2007 marks the fortieth anniversary of
The Referendum amended the Commonwealth Constitution to allow Federal Parliament to make laws for Aboriginal people and to ensure that Indigenous Australians were counted in the national Census.
It was a vote by the Australian people for something to be done about the state of Aboriginal lives by the national government.
The “˜Yes’ vote affirmed that Indigenous Australians should have running water, nice houses, good education and access to health services.
“Our citizenship rights and our Indigenous rights cannot be separated. We cannot have one without the other.” Professor Lowitja O’Donoghue
If Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians working side by side in the lead-up to the referendum could achieve such a resounding result, imagine what Australians can do to progress today’s reconciliation agenda!
The Sisters of St Joseph and the
Reference:
The Social Justice Report 1997, The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, http://www.humanrights.gov.au/social_justice/sj_reports.html#97
Reconciliation Australia http://www.reconciliation.org.au/i-cms.isp?page=345
From: Specific Issues Committee, Indigenous Concerns (Sisters Liz Rothe and Rose Glennen) The Committee warmly invites your response to the article or the issue.
Email: indigenous.concerns@mercy.org.au
Contact: Carmel Heagerty RSM, Institute Justice Co-ordinator