The 1967 Referendum Year level: 9 10

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1 The 1967 Referendum Year level: 9 10 L10617 Discovering democracy: Australia votes. Copyright Education Services Australia Ltd Warning: please be aware that this unit of work may contain references to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who may have passed away. About the unit Unit description In this unit of work, students investigate the causes and effects of the 1967 Referendum. They identify what constitutes citizenship and citizen rights, and look at some of the differences between the civil rights of Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians prior to the 1967 Referendum. They also investigate the process by which the referendum came to be held, and analyse its results and effects. Students evaluate sources, undertake small-group research tasks, and use digital learning tools and extended writing tasks to form opinions and communicate their learning about the evolution of Indigenous civil rights in Australia. Knowledge, understandings, skills, values Students identify and describe key features of Australian citizenship prior to Students evaluate sources relating to the 1967 Referendum and evaluate the function of these documents in representing history. Students investigate the ways in which citizens have engaged in political processes. Students use ICT-based activities and speaking and writing activities to demonstrate their understandings of the historical causes and effects of the 1967 Referendum. The 1967 Referendum 1

2 Focus questions What does it mean to have citizenship? What does it mean to be denied full citizenship? How have Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians successfully campaigned to change the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia? What has been the impact of the 1967 Referendum in Australia? Resources Digital curriculum resources R8899 The Foundation : Raising the Foundation R8897 The Foundation : Stand up, be counted R10762 Case for in the 1967 Indigenous referendum Internet sites National Museum of Australia s Collaborating for Indigenous rights website: Software VoiceThread: Presentation tool: Attached printable resources The following learning resources referred to in the unit of work are available for you to modify, print and use in your own teaching and learning context. Citizens rights prior to 1967 Your petitioners humbly pray... The referendum campaign people, ideas, groups What was the result of the referendum vote? What have been the impacts of the referendum? The 1967 Referendum 2

3 Teaching the unit Setting the scene Resources Victory celebration, Tranby College, Sydney, June 1967 photograph, available at (select 1967 Referendum, then Victory ) Teaching and learning activities Analysing a photograph Visit the National Museum of Australia s Collaborating for Indigenous rights website and find the image of Victory celebration, Tranby College, Sydney, June Ask students to look at this photograph, which is related to a significant event in Australian history. Explain that while photographs provide good evidence for exploring issues, they need to be critically analysed. Discuss these questions: Who is in the photograph? What are they doing? What is the setting? What period of time would you say it was? What is the mood of the photograph? Why do you think it was taken? Ask students to work in pairs to provide a caption for this photograph. Share students ideas and discuss how a caption can change the way we read an image. Explain, if students are not aware, that this image is of a group of Australians celebrating the passing of the 1967 Referendum to change the Australian constitution. The changes to the Australian constitution in 1967 were designed to try to promote greater equality for, and provide citizenship rights to, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. ~ Watch the video clip R8899 The Foundation : Raising the Foundation What are citizenship rights? Ask students to imagine they have been asked to create a model set of citizenship rights for classrooms. This set of rights will be adopted in schools around Australia. As a whole class, list the main rights to include. For example, students might decide that every citizen of their classroom has the right to have a bottle of water to drink on their desk during lessons. Citizens of their classroom may also eat their lunch in the classroom rather than have to go outside. Only citizens of the class can eat lunch in that room. Decide on at least five citizenship rules. List them on the whiteboard. The 1967 Referendum 3

4 Now put the name of every student in the class in a container and have one person draw out five names. These people, while still members of your class, are not full citizens, and so do not have the rights you have just created. They cannot do all the things that the rest can do. How do the partial citizens feel about this situation? How do those who have full citizenship rights feel about it? Citizenship means that members of a community have equal rights within the community. It also means that all members have a fair opportunity to exercise those rights. In effect, the condition that students created of having two categories of citizens full and partial was the situation that existed in Australia before The rest of this unit explores the situation in Australia in 1967 in which Indigenous Australians were not considered citizens of Australia and were not counted in the census. Students explore the efforts to alter that situation through a referendum to change the Australian constitution. It also asks students to reflect on the effects of the 1967 Referendum for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. ~ Watch the video R8897 The Foundation : Stand up, be counted Investigating Resources R10762 Case for in the 1967 Indigenous referendum Citizens rights prior to 1967 (page 8) Your petitioners humbly pray... (page 10) The referendum campaign people, ideas, groups (page 14) National petition campaign, at (select 1967 Referendum, then National petition campaign, ) Teaching and learning activities Citizens rights Use the printable resource Citizens rights prior to 1967 (page 8) to guide small-group research. Students will access the National Museum of Australia s Collaborating for Indigenous rights website to investigate the rights and freedoms that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had in the different states and in the Northern Territory prior to the 1967 Referendum. They will need to answer the questions on the sheet, report their findings to the class and contribute their findings to a class poster. Petitions Use the printable resource Your petitioners humbly pray... (page 10) to introduce the concept of petitions and the capacity of petitions to influence change. Ask students to complete the first activity in pairs. This asks students to determine who they would present a number of different petitions to and what would make those petitions effective. The 1967 Referendum 4

5 Then as a whole class, work through the second activity. This activity asks students to read the two sections of the constitution (both as it originally stood and with the changes the referendum sought to make). Students identify the implications for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Students now independently investigate and identify the components of the petition used during the national petition campaign in Students locate the petition on the National Museum of Australia s Collaborating for Indigenous rights website and answer a series of questions. Students then undertake a small-group research task of investigating one of five different petitions relating to Indigenous rights that have been presented over time. Groups will need to take notes under the headings provided and report their findings back to the class. Campaigns This activity asks students to think about the publicity that the campaign needed to generate in order to convince Australian citizens to pass the referendum. Students use the printable resource The referendum campaign people, ideas, groups (page 14) to: as a whole class, brainstorm strategies appropriate to a campaign held in 1967 in small research groups, closely examine, and then report on, one of ten examples of material from the 1967 campaign. Questions are provided to guide student investigation and presentation. Bringing it all together Resource What was the result of the referendum vote? (page 16) Teaching and learning activities What were the results of the referendum? Using the printable resource What was the result of the referendum vote? (page 16) students analyse the voting results state by state and suggest reasons why Australian citizens who were entitled to vote voted the way they did. Drawing conclusions Resource What have been the impacts of the referendum? (page 17) Teaching and learning activities Impacts of the referendum: forming opinions Using the printable resource What have been the impacts of the referendum? (page 17), students independently read and assess a description of the referendum s effects, and consider a number of statements made in 1997, 30 years after the referendum was held. The 1967 Referendum 5

6 Communicating Resources VoiceThread: Presentation tool: Teaching and learning activities The following three activities can be used for final assessment in this unit. 1. Students work in groups of four to select one of the people from the list below. They create a series of ten questions and answers that relate to the image and the referendum. Students then use the image and the questions to create a VoiceThread. This VoiceThread can be submitted for assessment. 2. Students research one person who played a significant role in the campaign for the referendum and create either a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation or an online presentation using Prezi. The presentation will explain the person s contribution to the campaign for the referendum and the importance of the referendum in Australia. People who played a significant role in the campaign for the referendum include: Gordon Bryant Jessie Street Barry Christophers Alick Jackomos Charles Perkins Lorna Lippmann Joe McGinness Chicka Dixon Bert Groves Harry Penrith Pearl Gibbs Shirley Andrews Stan Davey Doug Nicholls William C Wentworth Barrie Pittock HC Coombs Harriet Ellis Bill Onus Oodgeroo Noonuccal 3. Students complete and submit an essay on the topic: The 1967 Referendum made little difference to the reality of life for Indigenous Australians. To what extent do you agree with this assessment of the 1967 Referendum? The 1967 Referendum 6

7 Writer: Angela Casey, National Museum of Australia Some of the content in this unit of work draws on material jointly owned by National Museum of Australia and Ryebuck Media. The material in this unit of work may contain links to internet sites maintained by entities not connected to Education Services Australia Ltd and which it does not control ( Sites ). Education Services Australia Ltd: provides the links for ease of reference only and it does not sponsor, sanction or approve of any material contained on the Sites; and does not make any warranties or representations as to, and will not be liable for, the accuracy or any other aspect of the material on the Sites or any other matter connected to the use of the Sites. While the material in this unit of work is not remunerable under Part VB of the Copyright Act 1968, material on the Sites may be remunerable under Part VB of the Copyright Act It is your responsibility to read and comply with any copyright information, notices or conditions of use which apply to a Site. The 1967 Referendum 7

8 Warning: please be aware that this learning resource may contain references to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who may have passed away. Citizens rights prior to 1967 Name Class Date R6805 Referendum poster, Reproduced courtesy of Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders and Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales. What were Indigenous Australian people s civil rights at the start of the 1960s? What were the differences between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians rights at the time? In groups, students list some of the civil rights that were enjoyed by non-indigenous people, but not by Indigenous people, in different Australian states and territories at the beginning of the 1950s. Use the table provided. Each group will need to report its findings to the class, and contribute the information to a class poster. Note that there is no column in the table for Tasmania, as it was wrongly believed by the government at the time that there were no Aboriginal people left in Tasmania. To research each area, go to (select the civil rights link, then Social service benefits, , then Campaigning. Open the document The Australian Aborigines: a summary of their situation in all states in 1962 ). The 1967 Referendum 8

9 Citizens rights prior to 1967, continued Aspect of people s rights and citizenship status: Able to vote (state) Subject to special state acts? Able to gain exemptions from restrictions? Able to move freely? Able to own property? Able to control own money? Paid equal wages to non- Indigenous workers (award wages)? Able to have special minimum wage rates? Eligible for social service benefits? Eligible for returned servicemen entitlements? Free to marry any other person? Able to have control of their own children? Able to mix with any other people? Subject to restrictions on sexual relations with non- Indigenous people? Able to exercise full rights in court? Subject to special Aboriginal courts? Able to vote? Subject to censorship of mail? Able to consume alcohol? Situation today Australian citizens Situation prior to 1967 Non- Indigenous Australians No Not applicable No No Not applicable No Indigenous Australians NSW NT Qld SA Vic WA The 1967 Referendum 9

10 Your petitioners humbly pray What attempts were made to change the constitution by petitions? Name Class Date As you know, by 1967 not all Australians had equal citizenship rights in practice. One way that people tried to bring about a change in the living conditions and the rights of Indigenous people was by petitions. What is a petition? How and where are petitions used in Australia today? A petition is a collection of signatures of people who are asking for a change, often to a law. In the case of a federal law or the Australian constitution, the petition is delivered to the Australian Parliament. Petitions are presented to parliament by the members who represent a particular electorate (for the House of Representatives) or a state (for the Senate). The minister or senator presents the petition even if she or he does not personally agree with it. Nothing actually happens with petitions after they are presented to parliament. The point behind them is to try to influence the government by showing what the people want. Petitions have been used to show the Australian Government that the people wanted a change to the Australian constitution to redress the inequities between Indigenous and non-indigenous people. Imagine you were organising petitions to change the situations set out in the table below. Who would you present the petition to? What would determine whether this petition were effective or not? Change required Petitionee Key factors likely to make petition effective At your school Parking laws in local street Reduce plastic in supermarkets Increase (or decrease) refugee intake to Australia Increase (or decrease) Australia s adoption of international human rights laws The 1967 Referendum 10

11 Your petitioners humbly pray, continued What did the 1967 Referendum want to change? Most of the petitions you are about to study called for a change to the Australian constitution, created in The Australian constitution determines what power the Australian Government and states and territories have. Soon you will see that the main aim of reformers was to have the Australian Parliament able to make laws affecting Indigenous people. Before 1967 it could not do this in most areas affecting Indigenous people s lives. Look at the table below and: summarise what sections 51(xxvi) and 127, as passed in 1901, meant for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people decide what effect you think the proposed changes to those two sections would have on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Before 1967 After Australian constitution 5.1 The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to: (xxvi) The people of any race, other than the aboriginal people in any State, for whom it is necessary to make special laws. Meaning and implication for Indigenous people Proposed change to the 1901 constitution 5.1 The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to: (xxvi) The people of any race, other than the aboriginal people in any State, for whom it is necessary to make special laws. Meaning and implication for Indigenous people 127. In reckoning the numbers of the people of the Commonwealth or of a State or other part of the Commonwealth, aboriginal natives should not be counted 127. In reckoning the numbers of the people of the Commonwealth or of a State or other part of the Commonwealth, aboriginal natives should not be counted The 1967 Referendum 11

12 Your petitioners humbly pray, continued Case study: the petition campaign Several petitions were presented to parliament (and other authorities) before These petitions did not achieve their aim of changing the constitution. Why not? The next two tasks will help you explore this issue. Go to the Collaborating for Indigenous rights website ( and select Civil rights, then The referendum, and then National petition campaign, Then select More info on National petition form. Answer the following questions: What effect was this petition designed to have? Who was it presented to? Who would have presented it? What problem is it seeking to overcome? What is it asking the body to do? Who would sign it? What new words does it want? Who is involved in creating it? Imagine you are a member of the House of Representatives in You are aware that a national campaign is about to start. You have to decide whether it will influence you. What are the main factors that will determine whether or not you are influenced by the campaign? Petitions are regularly presented to parliament today. You can find information about them at several sites, including (search for fact sheet petitions ). You could also explore particular petitions that have been presented to parliament. Do an internet search of state or commonwealth Hansards and you will find a record of those that have been presented recently. See if your local MP has presented any. Group research tasks Your class has been divided into five groups. Each group will examine one of the following petitions and complete the table below. Each group will report back to the class, and the summarised information can be shared. Questions Who is organising it/is involved in creating it? When? Who has signed it? Who is it being presented to? Why present it to that person/organisation? The 1967 Referendum 12

13 Your petitioners humbly pray, continued (Table continued) Questions What problem is it seeking to overcome? What change does it want to bring about? What effects does it expect this change will have? Group 1: 1946 petition to Queen Victoria Go to select 1967 Referendum and search for 1846 petition to Queen Victoria Group 2: 1933 petition to King George V Go to select 1967 Referendum and search for 1933 petition to King George V Group 3: Aboriginal-Australian Fellowship petition to amend the constitution, 1957 Go to select 1967 Referendum and search for Aboriginal- Australian Fellowship, petition to amend the constitution, 1957 Group 4: petition for a referendum, 1958 Go to select 1967 Referendum and search for Petition for a referendum, 1958 Group 5: referendum petition, FCAATSI, 1966 Go to select 1967 Referendum and search for Referendum petition, FCAATSI, 1966 For a petition to succeed it needs to ultimately result in a Bill being introduced to parliament. If this Bill is passed, it becomes an Act of Parliament and a new law for Australia. Most Bills are introduced into parliament by the government of the day. It is rare for opposition or private members to introduce Bills. For a government Bill to be introduced it needs the approval of cabinet a group of senior ministers. The 1967 Referendum 13

14 The referendum campaign people, ideas, groups Name Class Date Cabinet had authorised the legislation for a referendum, and the legislation had been passed in parliament. How would the electors now vote on it? 1. Imagine you have been put in charge of planning the referendum campaign. Create a list of strategies that you would use to persuade voters to support it. Remember that in 1967: there were no mobile phones there were no personal computers there was no internet or pamphlets had to be commercially printed or typed and reproduced on small handprinting machines the minority of homes had TV, but nearly all had radio. List your strategies. For example, would you have a slogan? Which organisations would you approach for help? How do you get your message around the whole nation? 2. Divide your class into ten groups. Each group needs to look at one of the internet links below, analyse some material from the 1967 campaign and answer the guiding questions. You will need to present your findings to the class, explaining what material you looked at, the strategy used and the main messages in the document. Campaign document The government case for : go to select 1967 Referendum and then Campaigning for a YES vote. Then select The government case for YES. Australian bishops say : go to select 1967 Referendum and then Campaigning for a YES vote. Then select on Australian bishops say YES, Guiding questions a) What are the two main reasons given for supporting the change to s.51 (xxvi)? b) What impact would this have on states power in the area? c) What is the main argument about why s.127 should be removed? d) Who has produced this pamphlet? e) Is it likely to be influential? a) Why are churches being stressed? b) What strategies are being used? c) What messages are being given to readers through these two images? d) Is it likely to be influential? What a No vote would mean : go to select 1967 Referendum and then Campaigning for a YES vote. Then click on What a No vote would mean. a) What are the main arguments being used? b) What message might readers get from the photograph? c) Is it likely to be influential? The 1967 Referendum 14

15 The referendum campaign people, ideas, groups, continued (Table continued) Campaign document Letters to the Editor : go to select 1967 Referendum and then Campaigning for a YES vote. Then select Letters to the Editor. Guiding questions a) Do these letters support or oppose the referendum? b) Whose opinions do they represent? c) Are they likely to be influential? Letter to the Prime Minister, 10 May 1967 : go to select 1967 Referendum and then Campaigning for a YES vote. Then select Letter to the Prime Minister, 10 May The rights of the Australian Aborigines AND YOU : go to select 1967 Referendum and then Campaigning for a YES vote. Then select The rights of the Australian Aborigines AND YOU. Vote YES poster, 1967 : go to select 1967 Referendum and then Campaigning for a YES vote. Then select Vote YES poster, a) Who was Harold Blair? b) What is the date of the letter? c) Why might the writer make this offer? Does it suggest the government was not campaigning hard enough for the referendum? d) Is it likely to be influential? a) What are the main arguments in this poster? b) What is the message of the image? c) Who has produced this poster? d) Is it likely to be influential? a) What is the message of this poster? b) Why is it so brief? c) Is it likely to be influential? Right wrongs Write YES for Aborigines on May 27 pamphlet: go to select 1967 Referendum and then Campaigning for a YES vote. Then select Pamphlet, Right wrongs Write YES for Aborigines on May 27. Vote YES for Aborigines : go to select 1967 Referendum and then Campaigning for a YES vote. Then select Vote YES for Aborigines. a) What is the message of this poster? b) Why is it so brief? c) What is the message of the photograph? d) Is it likely to be influential? a) What are the arguments of this poster? b) What is the message of the images? c) Who has produced it? d) Is it likely to be influential? The 1967 Referendum 15

16 What was the result of the referendum vote? Name Class Date Here are the national voting figure for the 1967 Referendum to change s.127 and s.51(xxvi). Work out the approximate percentage of and No votes for each state and complete the table. (Note that ACT and NT residents did not have a vote in the referendum at this stage.) State On rolls Ballots issued For % For Against % Against Informal NSW 2,315,828 2,166,507 1,949, ,010 35,461 Vic 1,734,476 1,630,594 1,525,026 85,611 19,957 Qld 904, , ,612 90,587 9,529 SA 590, , ,440 75,383 12,021 WA 437, , ,823 75,282 10,561 Tas 199, , ,176 18,134 3,935 Total (Aust) 6,182,585 5,801,584 5,183, ,007 91,464 Suggest reasons for: the overwhelming support for the change the differences in the states voting patterns. The 1967 Referendum 16

17 What have been the impacts of the referendum? Once the constitution was changed what then? Would there be real changes made to laws and policies affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people? Some people thought there would be no real change; others thought state governments would now start meeting and plan uniform changes; some people thought that the Commonwealth would start to exercise its powers independently of the states and override their laws and policies. Now look at this document summarising what has happened. An assessment of the consequences of the referendum Firstly, the changes enabled the introduction of benign discrimination. Despite resistance from parts of the government, [there were] several federal programs specifically aimed at satisfying desperate Aboriginal needs in the area of emplyment, education, health, housing, and the administration of justice. Secondly, the newly worded s.51 offered a head of power on which the government was able to draw for enacting the Aboriginal Land Fund Act 1974, the Aboriginal Loans Commission Act 1974, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (Queensland Discriminatory Laws) Act 1975, Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1976, Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (Queensland Reserves and Communities Selfmanagement) Act 1978, Aboriginal Development Commission Act 1980, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage (Interim Protection) Act 1984, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Commission Act 1989 and the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation Act Thirdly, a new administrative definition of Aboriginal was introduced. [T]he Australian state governments had created a raft of restrictive, technical or bureaucratic definitions of what constituted an Aboriginal person Definitions such as these were never accepted as meaningful by Aboriginal communities and the Commonwealth was easily able to introduce for its purposes a fresh, more practical, definition based on community and self-identification. Fourthly, the changes in the late 1960s heralded in a period characterised by the search for ways to facilitate self-management, self-sufficiency, self-determination and, most recently, self-empowerment. Fifthly, the changes offered the federal government a head of power (the so-called race power ) to enact, in response to the 1992 Mabo High Court decision, the Native Title Act 1993 and Land Fund and Indigenous Land Corporation (ATSIC Amendment) Act 1995 and to defend the former from a High Court challenge by Western Australia in Australian Parliamentary Library, Background Paper /1997 In your own words, how would you describe what has happened as a result of the 1967 Referendum, drawing on the information in the National Museum of Australia s Collaborating for Indigenous rights website : The 1967 Referendum 17

18 What have been the impacts of the referendum?, continued In the table provided are some comments made by people nearly 30 years after the 1967 Referendum. From your knowledge, decide whether the underlined claims about the referendum are true or false and tick the appropriate column. True False Comment [1997] marks just 30 years since the 1967 Referendum: acknowledged Aboriginal citizenship allowed Aborigines to vote and participate in the political process and entitled them to pursue access to crucial services such as education. Patrick Dodson and Roberta Sykes, Sydney Morning Herald, 1996 The referendum victory was a watershed, giving black Australians basic human rights and laying the foundations for the land rights movements of the 70s. Gary Hughes, The Australian, marks only the 30th anniversary of the 1967 Referendum, when Aborigines finally won the right to vote. Socialist Alternative, 1996 Surely 27 May should be Australia s national day. On that date in 1967 by referendum, all Australian citizens, Indigenous or otherwise, became equal under the constitution with the same rights and responsibilities. True nationhood was born on that day. The Age, 1996 Since the 1967 Referendum, when a coalition government established the long overdue citizenship rights of Indigenous people, there has been an increasing involvement of the Commonwealth government in Indigenous affairs. Liberal Party, 1996 The Malaysian prime minister, Dr Mahathir alluded to the racism debate in Australia, saying: The Aborigines of Australia were granted citizenship, the right to vote and full recognition as human beings only in The Australian, 1996 Sources quoted in B Attwood and A Markus, 1967 Referendum, or When Aborigines didn t get the vote, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra, 1997 Why do you think so many people make such mistakes about what the 1967 Referendum actually did? How would you describe the outcome of the 1967 Referendum? The 1967 Referendum 18