Voting Yes

Reference Material from Aboriginal Institutute of ATSI Studies : 

When the Constitution first came into being in 1901 there were only two parts that referred to the First Peoples of Australia: Section 51 (xxvi) gave the Commonwealth power to make laws with respect to ‘people of any race, other than the Aboriginal race in any state, for whom it was deemed necessary to make special laws’; and Section 127 provided that ‘in reckoning the numbers of people of the Commonwealth, or of a State or other part of the Commonwealth, aboriginal natives shall not be counted’.

This meant that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people weren’t recognised as part of the Australian population.

It also meant that the states could create their own policies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Dispossession was rampant, as was oppression and control of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ lives. The states enacted Aboriginal Protection Acts which gave them the legal right to remove children from their families.

Australians vote yes to change the Constitution

On 27 May 1967, Australians voted to change the Constitution so that like all other Australians, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples would be counted as part of the population and the Commonwealth would be able to make laws for them. A resounding 90.77 per cent said ‘Yes’ and every single state and territory  had a majority result for the ‘Yes’ vote.  It was one of the most successful national campaigns in Australia’s history.

Thousands of people worked on the campaign and achieving the ‘yes’ was a huge victory, signalling a change in the mindset of Australia’s majority. It opened the door to First Nations Australian agency, bringing to light many strong leaders and organisations, and the expectation that things could be different. Change was possible, and they were willing to fight for it. In many ways, that fight continues today.

From the Parliamentary Education Office website:

 The Australian Constitution does not recognise or mention Aboriginal and Torres Strait Australians. However there are 2 sections which have been used to make laws specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. These are section 25 (races disqualified from voting) and section 51 (xxvi) (the Australian Parliament can make laws for any race).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were not included in the discussions about the creation of Australia and the drafting of the Constitution. Apart from some Aboriginal people in South Australia, the first peoples of Australia did not participate in the referendums in which the public agreed to the draft Constitution.

In 1967 the Australian people were asked in a referendum if the Constitution should be changed to remove section 127 which excluded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Australians from being counted in the census, and modified section 51 (xxvi) to allow the Parliament to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples. The referendum was agreed to with the largest yes vote ever recorded.