A historic day for Indigenous people in Australia is approaching: a referendum will decide on more political rights. But the vote is dividing the country – even the indigenous people are not entirely in agreement.
At the age of 17, farmer Frank van den Nieuwboer emigrated to Australia. At the time he only had a few dollars in his pocket. Today he owns a lot of land in northern Sydney and successfully produces and sells animal feed. Van den Nieuwboer is afraid that the indigenous people could take his land away. That’s why he wants to vote no on Saturday in the historic referendum that could strengthen the rights of indigenous people.
The mood in Australia is heated, the referendum is dividing the country. According to opinion polls, a majority want to vote against it. Farmer van den Nieuwboer thinks that the indigenous people already get enough government help. “50 percent of them are unemployed in northern cities. Why not say, ‘Listen, you’re 16, 17, 18 – try to get a job. Do you want to further your education? Do that.’ You don’t even have to pay. It’s all free.”
But the billions that have flowed into supporting indigenous people for decades have evaporated, says lawyer Gabrielle Appleby from the University of New South Wales. That’s why the referendum is needed. It is the first referendum in Australia this century.
A historic day?
It could be a historic day for the country’s indigenous people. After decades of discussions, Australians are voting on whether the country’s indigenous people should be recognized as the “first peoples of Australia” in the constitution. In addition, a committee is to be created that gives indigenous people a voice in parliament.
In the future, representatives of various indigenous tribes should be able to advise the government and parliament on issues that affect their lives. The body would be anchored in the constitution. So future governments couldn’t simply abolish it.
prime minister relies on collaboration
Lawyer Appleby is involved in the draft bill for the referendum. “We’ve been trying for decades, but nothing has worked so far,” she explains. “Working with the people affected by policies, particularly in disadvantaged areas, produces better results in the medium to long term.” And that ultimately reduces costs.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also argues: “It’s about doing things with Indigenous Australians, rather than for them.” For Albanese, there is a lot at stake. The referendum is one of his election promises. For him, October 14th is “a unique opportunity to bring our country together.”
But the project has become a tightrope walk: While he assures the right-wing camp that the planned committee is not intended to decide, but only to advise, he has to convince indigenous skeptics that the
Constitutional change is more than just symbolic politics.
The Disadvantage the “First Nations”
Members of the indigenous peoples are still disadvantaged in Australia today. Their life expectancy is around eight years shorter, child mortality is high, they are poorer, less educated and therefore have fewer opportunities on the job market. Although indigenous people only make up around three percent of the population, they make up a third of all prison inmates.
Life changed for the First Nations when the British First Fleet entered what is now Sydney Harbor in 1788. In the following decades, the indigenous people were expelled, hunted, killed or died from diseases imported from Europe.
When the British wrote Australia’s constitution in 1901, there was no mention of Indigenous people. They lived on the continent long before the settlers, for more than 60,000 years. “At the time, the perception was that they would soon become extinct anyway,” says lawyer Appleby.
Civil rights only in 1967
It was not until 1967 that indigenous people were granted civil rights. Until the 1970s, many indigenous children were taken from their families to be “re-educated” in Christian institutions, homes or white families.
This so-called stolen generation still struggles with this trauma to this day – it manifests itself in alcoholism, abuse and psychological problems. The suicide rate among Indigenous people is almost double that of non-Indigenous Australians. It was only in 2008 that the government under then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologized for the suffering caused to people.
“Voice, Treaty, Truth”
The referendum follows a decades-long struggle for recognition and more say. The proposal for the committee comes from the indigenous people themselves.
A key moment was in 2017, when around 250 Indigenous Australians from across the country came together. They adopted the so-called “Uluru Statement from the Heart”. In it they demanded three things: “Voice, Treaty, Truth”, a voice in parliament, a treaty between the government and the indigenous people, like those in New Zealand or Canada, and the truth about the colonial past.
Some indigenous people also want to vote no
Two surveys in January and March this year showed that around 80 percent of indigenous people want to vote yes in the referendum and are in favor of the “Voice to Parliament”.
At the same time, this shows that some indigenous people are also against it. They argue that the advisory body does not go far enough. They want more – for example a contract to significantly improve the lives of indigenous people in Australia.
Others argue that they would have managed to get out of disadvantage even without the constitutional change and that other indigenous people could do the same. One of the best-known indigenous opponents is the opposition politician Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. “I want Australia to develop as one country and not as two divided countries,” she said in a parliamentary speech: “This is a dangerous and costly proposal. It is legally risky and full of unknowns.”
Division widens
In recent weeks, the arguments of opponents have been heard louder than the voices of supporters. Critics say the committee means more bureaucracy and divides the country into two groups.
Proponents counter that Australia is already divided and the referendum should resolve the division. Further points of criticism are that too few details are known about the consequences of the referendum.
Fear and uncertainty are particularly widespread on social media. Instead of uniting the country, it has increased divisions in society for the moment.
98 percent registered to vote
Voting is compulsory in Australia. Almost 18 million Australians are eligible to vote. More Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians have registered to vote than ever before, almost 98 per cent of those eligible to vote. If a majority votes yes, it would be the first successful referendum since 1977.
This requires a double majority, i.e. of the Australian population and at least four of the six states. Of 44 proposed constitutional amendments, only eight have been successful in the past.