Rights and Freedoms1945-2015

Mr Shipp, Year 10 History, 2015Part 2

Syllabus

The 1962 Electoral Amendment Act (Cth) allowed indigenous people to vote at a federal level if they wished

It took some states (QLD) another 3 years to allow voting at a state level

Aboriginal Right to Vote

The Federal Referendum of 27 May 1967 proposed two significant changes: to be included in the census and that the federal Govt could make laws in regard to Aboriginals

The 1967 Referendum

Historians have suggested that many people voted ‘Yes’ because they believed that resources for Aboriginal people, including welfare, would be more readily available if delivered by the Commonwealth

In Aug 1975, PM Gough Whitlam handed back land to the traditional owners who were the Gurindji people

This case set a precedent in land rights claim which led to further action in later decades

The Gurindji Land Claim

I want to acknowledge that we Australians

have still much to do to redress the injustice

and oppression that has for so long been

the lot of Black Australians

We’re all mates now

A high court decision that ruled the term terra nullius be overturned and that native title had survived the British Crown’s “ acquisition of sovereignty”

The Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) was developed which gave Aboriginal groups recognition of land if they could prove continued occupancy of traditional usage

The Mabo Decision

In the Wik Peoples vs Queensland, the High Court ruled that a pastoral lease did not necessarily extinguish native title

Rather, native title rights could coexist with pastoral leases but, if Indigenous rights conflicted with pastoralists’ activities, these pastoralists’ rights would prevail

The Wik Decision

‘the pendulum has swung too far the way of Aborigines in the

argument’

After Mabo and the Native Title Act 1993, there was a national push towards reconciling with Aboriginal populations

The Redfern Speech 1992, PM Paul Keating gave his speech on the need for the nation to acknowledge the harm caused to Indigenous peoples through the policies of previous governments. ‘Historical Truths’

The Road to Reconciliation

After the release of the Bringing Them Home Report PM Howard expressed ‘regret’ for the stolen generation period but not ‘sorry’

It rejected the concept of inter-generational responsibility – the principle that future generations should bear responsibility for the deeds of past generations

National Sorry Day

This national apology finally came at 9 a.m. on 13 February 2008 by PM Kevin Rudd

Gestures such as the federal government’s willingness to say sorry symbolise Australians’ growing appreciation of this country’s checkered past and their acknowledgement of the rich culture of its First Peoples.

Syllabus

A human rights treaty that sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children

This treaty is a widely ratified document around the world. It became effective in 1990.

Convention of the Rights of the Child

This declaration was adopted by the United Nations in 2007

As this declaration has only been adopted by the General Assembly, it is not legally binding under international law but does set a global standard

The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People