The Fight for Aboriginal Rights in Australia. By Garry Coates

Transcription

1 The Fight for Aboriginal Rights in Australia By Garry Coates

2 A Quick History Australian Aboriginals are the world s oldest civilization, dating back approximately 50, 000 years. Aboriginal communities were mostly semi nomadic, hunter gatherer communities. They relied on the land to survive. In 1788, colonization by the United Kingdom begins. By 1870, all fertile lands in Australia had been taken by the settlers and the Aboriginal communities were forced into areas considered unsuitable for settlement. By 1900 the Aboriginal population had decreased by an estimated 90%. This was due to being forced off the land they needed to survive, diseases brought by the settlers, and also direct violence. 1901, Australia becomes a federation. Included in the constitution is a section stating Aboriginal people will not be included in the census, and that the Commonwealth Government cannot create laws in regard to Aboriginal people. They would be wards of the States. Basically, the Government has no responsibility for Aboriginal people.

3 This brings me to the first big moment in the fight for citizenship and attaining rights as Australian Citizens.

4 The Warburton Ranges Controversy Monitoring complex would be built here. The Aboriginals would lose access to precious water and the local wild life would disappear. In , a proposal to use the Australian desert to test British nuclear weapons becomes public. Despite protests from peace groups and Aboriginal rights groups, the project went ahead. Nuclear missiles would be launched The Aboriginal people in this area(that have nowhere else to go because all their land had been stolen) would suffer things such as blindness, malnutrition, burns, abortion, infanticide, and other injuries. When reports of these cases were given to the government, the government simply responded by stating the section of the constitution that said the government has no responsibility for Aboriginal welfare.

5 The Warburton Ranges Controversy Monitoring complex would be built here. The Aboriginals would lose access to precious water and the local wild life would disappear. Nuclear missiles would be launched Why was citizenship important to this matter? Because the Aboriginal people had been forced off their lands into this area, and now even that area was becoming uninhabitable. Not only were there nuclear tests, but now mining companies were also moving in as they could see the government had no intention of protecting these lands. The Native people in these areas lost the only land with good access to food and water. Without recognition of having equal rights, the government would continue to neglect this issue and claim no responsibility.

6 Media giant Rupert Murdoch, with financial interest in The Warburton Ranges As you can see in this article, Rupert the miningcontroversy industry, would start his own campaign to This photo, apparently showing a Murdoch s plan was working and the public convince the Australian public that there was no healthy aboriginal wasmoney actually was if there really was a problem. problem in Warburton. Hefamily, could by using In not 1956sure the state government of Western Australia would produce a report for the make federal parliament years and not at all to the outlining the horrible conditions the Native people wereold facing. The federal government would to the Aboriginal peoples land, sorelevant he would putchoose out his ignore the findings, and continue to cite the constitution sayingsituation. that it is claiming a State responsibility and not afalse. own newspaper articles the reports were Warburton responsibility. Federal report may very be true While This natives are left inwell such in everyhuge detail, but the ordinary This is why it would take 10 years for change to take conditions, areas of thethe most The problem, though, is that nuclear tests were supported by the federal government and the state citizen, bewildered by subsequent place, the fight between what is right and what is favourable land are being taken governments had no power to stop them. denials, evasions and political The Committee I say that has these arrived fine at native the conclusion people that profitable. from their reserves and provided for disputation, can no longer be sure the plight have of thenever aborigines enjoyed better theforwarburton This would start a 10 year fight to change the constitution and gain basic in rights theconditions. Native people of miningone interests, atomic and way or the other. Australia. Laverton area is deplorable to the extreme. The guided missile testing grounds, and natives lack even the most basic necessities of life. other purposes. Malnutrition and blindness and disease, abortion and infanticide and burns and other injuries are NO ONE REALLY commonplace. With the help of the newspaper, the general SICK public were starting to become aware of the issue.

7 Having witnessed, on April 22 nd, one of After the media battle with Rupert Murdoch, the writer of the original report went back to the Warburton Ranges with a camera After the most witnessing shocking the motion movie, pictures The the of Government my would reply to all these crew letters and filmed with the a movie titled Manslaughter. This movie, showing Australian life, I feel public compelled would to become protest same response the true state of the Aboriginal people in the Warburton Ranges, outraged with the Commonwealth would horrify the public and gain the national support needed to Government. We have taken their lands indeed start making a change. best parts of the Warburton Ranges the The area people are still would being start taken to show to provide Commonwealth their space outrage for white through men s various businesses means to Government has like make community money, and meetings for testing and of This is a newspaper article about the movie, detailing the sending diabolical letters weapons to the that Government. should be no authority to horrible images that could be seen. banned anyway. concern itself with They would call it the most horrible film made in Aboriginal Australia. affairs The aborigine has a right to citizenship. He is not an animal. He is a human being whose only crime is skin READ THIS AND THEN SEE IF YOU RE STILL colouring. We claim to live in a Christian country, yet we still refuse to interest PROUD TO BE AN AUSTRALIAN. IF YOU RE NOT, ourselves in these people whom we DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. have so bitterly wronged.

8 The public was becoming frustrated with the That governments full human lack rights of caring be and guaranteed using the the aboriginal Constitution tribes as an excuse to continue practices that are clearly inhumane and morally wrong. However, the Government was still legally correct and simply asking The them meeting to stop wasn t decided going to to launch work. a petition for a Referendum to make Aborigine Affairs a It Commonwealth became clear that responsibility the Law and Constitution thus would need to be changed, and this is where depriving the Commonwealth Government the public would now focus their efforts. of the alibi it uses to excuse its past and present neglect. The holding of a referendum by the Federal Government for the amendment of the Constitution calling for the cessation of nuclear tests in Central Australia and the abandonment of the atomic rocket testing ground

9 The 1967 Referendum Finally in 1967, after 10 years of campaigning, there would be a referendum to change the Constitution. The changes were to include the re wording, or removal, of the following sections: 1. The Parliament shall, subject to the Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to the people of any race other than the aboriginal race in any State, for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws. 2. In reckoning the numbers of the people of the Commonwealth, or of a State or other part of the Commonwealth, aboriginal natives shall not be counted. 3. When a law of a State is inconsistent with a law of the Commonwealth the latter shall prevail, and the former shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be invalid. 1. This needed to be changed so that the Government could create laws to assist the Aboriginal people. 2. This needed to be removed as it was an insult to specifically exclude the Aboriginal people from the Constitution. 3. This would need to be changed to stop the Government from always overruling the State. As we saw with Warburton, this was a huge problem.

10 The 1967 Referendum The various Aboriginal rights groups and community members were worried that even if the Referendum was passed, that the Government would still fail to make the necessary changes in places like the Warburton Ranges. Changing the Constitution was the first step, but it would Count still us be together, left the Make Government us one to create laws to help the Aboriginal communities, and activists were worried At the time, that the people most Government discrimination would just was keep finding excuses. Pictures of children, especially coming from the uneducated The Catholic Church went white public and black children Aboriginal population and of white Australians. public So, figures The activists endorsing felt that a Yes the Referendum vote, would not only need to be passed, but it would need to pass with a huge majority in order to pressure together, which had the Government were often into used Aboriginal would actually in campaign leaders together toured the in an country making changes. If it could be shown that a huge influence at the the whole country wanted things the time. to change, campaign. then the Government attempt visiting would to universities, show have we to are understanding do something all the same that about it. they had a better people. chance of winning the By raising awareness of the situation, the activists were hoping vote to of achieve educated this result. Australians. The newspapers would also play a huge role in educating the public and pushing for the Yes vote.

11 The Result In the end, the Referendum would pass with over 90% of Australians voting Yes for Aboriginal rights. This was a great victory because after 10 years of campaigning, this large percentage voting Yes meant the Government would be unable to ignore it s new powers. However, this was just the first step. In years to come there would be further campaigns for education, housing, wages, trade training, land grants, and many other issues. The fight for Aboriginal rights is continuing to this day. Activists celebrating the Referendum victory.

12 Thank You for Listening

13 Bibliography: "Reconciliation Australia.gov.au." Digital Transformation Agency. Digital Transformation Agency, 05 May Web. 15 Dec Klein, Christopher. "DNA Study Finds Aboriginal Australians World's Oldest Civilization." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 23 Sept Web. 15 Dec "The Fights for Civil Rights." Collaborating for Indigenous Rights N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec "Australian Human Rights Commission." Human Rights. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec "Updated Köppen Geiger Climate Map of the World." Updated Köppen Geiger Climate Map of the World. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec "Australian Referendum, 1967 (Aboriginals)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 15 Dec "History of Indigenous Australians." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 15 Dec