1967 Referendum: Indigenous Australia

The 1967 Referendum was an extremely momentous event for Indigenous Australians; it signified that legal discrimination towards Aborigines would end soon, and promised full and equal citizenship to them. The Referendum not only affected their rights and freedoms, but also indicated that the nation was prepared to embrace Indigenous people as a part of their society and culture. On May 27th 1967, the Holt Liberal government held a referendum to determine whether or not two sections of the Constitution should be removed, as it discriminated against Aboriginal people. As a result, almost ninety-one percent of Australians voted ‘yes’ to alter these constitutional references. This significant event permitted the Commonwealth Government to