Gains from the protest movement

The hypocrisy of Australia's treatment of the Indigenous population had been highlighted by its condemnation of Apartheid in South Africa. Australians had protested against the racist policies of segregation and discrimination in the African country, but had ignored what had happened and what was continuing to happen in their own country. The Indigenous protest movement helped to change this. It reached its height in the 1970s and had succeeded in arousing national and international sympathy and anger over the way the Indigenous people had been treated for so long. Even in 2006 there is still much to be done in regards to equality and compensation. By 1972, however, many gains had been made from the protest movement and they can be divided into three categories - Political, Economic and Social. See image 1

Political Gains

Citizenship - Citizenship means being a member of a political community, like a country, with all the rights to participate politically in that community. The Indigenous population of Australia had never been recognised as citizens of Australia - they were outside the 'political community' and therefore had no say in how the community was run. Some Aboriginal people had been able to become Australian citizens since the end of the Second World War, but it meant getting an 'exemption certificate' that said they were no longer Aboriginal. This was not acceptable to the majority of Aboriginal people and very few of them ever signed up to the exemption scheme. However by 1960 various pieces of legislation in all the States that stopped Aboriginal people being citizens were repealed, and in 1961 the Minister for Territories, Paul Hasluck, announced in Parliament that Aboriginal citizenship had been achieved.

Voting Rights - Like Citizenship, voting rights had been available to some Aboriginal people in some States before the 1960s, but many Aboriginal people were unaware of those rights and did not exercise them. In 1962 the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) was amended so that all Indigenous people could vote in Commonwealth elections. In the next three years legislation was also passed in the States that did not already provide equal voting rights for Aboriginal people. Voting was not immediately made compulsory for Aboriginal people, but after they voted once, they then came under the same voting laws as all other Australians.

The 1967 Referendum - Many people believe that citizenship and voting rights were given to Aboriginal people by the 1967 Referendum, but that is not true. The referendum changed the constitution so that the Indigenous people could be counted in the census. The constitutional change also allowed the Commonwealth government to make laws for Indigenous peoples. The 1967 referendum was a big moment in Indigenous Australia's history because 90 per cent of the 'white' population voted in favour of legislation that was for Aboriginal people. This showed there had been a positive shift in the white attitude towards the Indigenous population.

Economic Gains

Recognition of equal pay - With the backing of the trade unions and by using strike action,Indigenous workers were granted equal pay as their white counterparts in 1965. However there was a delay in implementing the new policy and it did not really come into effect until 1968. By that stage more strike action had taken place. The Wave Hill strike of 1966 is an example of this.

Recognition of land rights - Although the Yirrkala people had lost their case against the company that was mining on their land, the High Court Judge did recognise that they had a traditional connection with the land that went back many thousands of years. The judge also said, however, that their ownership of the land had ended when English law was established in 1788 and the land was declared 'Terra Nullius'. The fact that the judgement recognised the Yirrkala prior ownership of the land meant that future cases could be fought on this basis.

They became eligible for government benefits - Like with many of the rights that became available to Aboriginal people, being eligible for government benefits like pensions or child benefits changed from State to State and over the years. Before 1959 some Aboriginal people could claim government money, but only if they were 'assimilated' and living in a town. If they were living on a reserve, or were nomadic then they were not granted benefits. In 1959 all Aboriginal people were made eligible for government benefits, no matter how or where they lived their lives. This was another step towards equality and the end of discrimination.

Social Gains

End of segregation in rural towns - Charles Perkins and the Freedom Riders of the 1960s helped to make more people aware of the discrimination and segregation in rural areas of Australia. By bringing the racist policies of many towns to light, they started a movement to end segregation. By the early 1970s many places were no longer openly discriminating against Aboriginal people, but unfortunately discrimination did not disappear completely.

The end of the Stolen Generations Policy - This policy coming to an end undoubtedly had the biggest impact on the Aboriginal people's life in the 1970s. The end of the assimilation policy meant that taking away Indigenous children from their families was no longer justifiable.

The end of the assimilation policy and the beginning of self-determination - The protest movement had shown that there was still a vibrant and expanding Indigenous culture in Australia. The policy of assimilation had not worked like the politicians had hoped it would. By the late 1960s the government came to recognise that there was value in Indigenous culture and changed its policy from assimilation and integration towards a policy of self-determination. One of the demands of the Aborigines' Progressive Association in the 1930s was the right to have a say in their own affairs - the new Labor Government of the early 1970s began to grant this. In 1972 Aboriginal Affairs became a separate government ministry with the establishment of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs. The move towards self-determination was one of the biggest gains made by the protest movement.