native people
Australia before referendum on more Aboriginal rights
Protest during an “Invasion Day” rally as part of the national holiday “Australia Day” on 01/26/2023. photo
© Bianca De Marchi/AAP/dpa
To this day, Australia’s indigenous population mostly lives on the fringes of society. The Aborigines also have no say in politics. A referendum is set to change that.
An important hurdle has been cleared on the way to a referendum on more political rights for Australia’s indigenous people: the House of Representatives in the capital Canberra voted in favor of such a referendum on a constitutional amendment on Wednesday with a large majority. Its motto is “Voice to Parliament”: If the majority votes yes, the indigenous people get their own voice in parliament.
Of the approximately 26 million Australians, almost one million are Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders – as the indigenous people of the islands of the same name are called. To this day, they are not represented in parliament. Indigenous people continue to be marginalized by large sections of the white majority. Most live on the fringes of society.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pushed ahead with the “voice referendum” after his election victory a year ago. In parliament, 121 MPs voted in favor and 25 against – mainly conservative politicians. Minister for Indigenous Australia Linda Burney stressed that a political voice for Aboriginal people will make a difference, particularly on the issues of health, education and housing. In these areas, the indigenous population is clearly disadvantaged.
Only granted civil rights in 1967
The constitutional amendment is about a body of Indigenous Australians advising the government on Aboriginal issues. Its members are to be appointed by representatives of the Aborigines – and not by the government. Now the Senate, as the second chamber of parliament, has to agree. A date for the referendum has not yet been set. It is expected to take place in October or November.
Aboriginal people settled in Australia 65,000 years ago. After the arrival of the “First Fleet” from England in 1788 and the colonization that followed, Aboriginal children were snatched from their parents for decades. The “stolen generation” had to grow up in homes or with white families. In the constitution passed in 1901, the indigenous people were not even mentioned. They were not granted civil rights until 1967. To this day they are fighting for the recognition of their land rights.