rights and freedoms

Human rights

garunteed, universal laws designed to protect the safety and wellbeing of all peoples no matter their background, location, beliefs etc

Tent Embassy (who)

first nations people created an “embassy” (a place where you go when something happens to you and you cant go home) as they felt like aliens in their own country, established in 1972 in front of the Australian parliament and aimed to draw attention to the wrongs against aboriginal people with the cemands of legal and title rights, the persecution of sacred sites and compensation for lands not returnable. was put up and taken down and finally reistablished on the grounds of old parliament house in 1992

the 1967 referendum

in 1967 Harold Holt (PM) rejected the aurindji land rights claim and created a referendum to count first nations people in the australian sensus - the referendum would allow for federal laws rather than state laws for first nations peoples.

the australian civil rights movement

the referendum is a country wide yes or no vote to change the constitution and would count first nations and torres strait islander peoples as human beings in the commonwealth of australia. first nations people were given the right to vote in the 1962 referendum NOT 1967. although 90% of australians voted yes in the refurendum it didn’t change the attitude toward first nations poeopes

Eddie Mabo

born on mer island in the torres strait, mabo learnt about the boundaries of his land due to the land features, rocks, and trees which assisted him in challenging the concept of land rights in a 10 year legal battle known as as mabo vs queensland and showing the media where is land starts and finishes. mabo died in 1992 and six months later, the high court ruled mabo in favour and he won the case

the native title act

passed on 1993 and meant first nations people had a right too their land because they could prove that they were the original owners before European settlement. native title could be appreoved to la d claims if the land had not been given away/sold post european settlement. if land had been bought by non-indigenous australians, native title could not be given as there had been a broken connection to country

the ‘redfern park’ speech

one of the most significant speeches given by an australian PM on first nations issues. december 1992 PM paul keating gave a speech to launch the united nations international year of the worlds indigenous peoples speaking to a primarily aboriginal audience in sydney and challenged non indigenous australians to imagine if they had experienced such wrongs. he used the repatition of ‘we’ in his speech, acknowledging the overarching government and cause and problem of dispossession. major breakthrough on the road to reconciliation although there was no appology given despite the significance of his speech

national reconciliation convention

john howard refused to apologies to first nations people at in 1997, believing that apologising would place the blame on those who weren’t responsible rather than the decisions made by previous generations. the audience stood up, turned their backs, and booed him. between 1997-2001 all states and territories provided apologies

bipartisan

9in a two way party political system such as australia) and acton or vote involving agreement from both parties

national sorry day

26 may 1998 - first anniversary of the ‘bringing them home’ report. every year this day commemorates those that were taken during the stolen generation and provides an opportunity to reflects on their opportunities

music

first nations artist artists archie roach wrote the song ‘took the children away’ to share his experience and pain and trauma of being removed from his family as a child - midnight oil (band) wrote a song called ‘beds are burning’ to show support for the land rights movement/ - ‘from little things big things grow’ was written by paul kelly and first nations man Kev Carmody for land rights action.

2000 olympics

cathy freemanlit the olympic flame during the open ceremony and then whon the 400m race and during her victory run wore both australian and aboriginal flags. midnight oil performed at the closing ceremony and whils performing ‘beds are burning’ they wore suits that had the words sorry written on them

apology

given on the 13th of feb 2008 by kevin rudd in his first week of being the new PM and he apologiesed to the stolen generation and for their poor treatment since european settlement but there was no offer of compensation and the parliament was patched for the apology and his speech was broadcasted in public places and in schools. but even though the polity was given there was critisim that without action being taken, rudy’s words were meaningless

little children are sacred report

released in 2007 and way an inquiry into the sexual abuse experienced by aboriginal children and aimed to find ways to protect the children and to support those that had been abused, it also looked into how the government can better support and educate aboriginal communities to prevent child sexual abuse

closing the gap report

provides data to show where reconciliation is not being achieved and it often focuses on areas such as housing, health and education. the report is then used to create a plan to address these concerns

uluṟu statement from the heart

in 2017 the first nations national constitutional convention was held at uluṟu. 250 first nations peoples mdt to discuss a path towards constitutional recognition. at the end of the convention, the uluṟu statement for the heart was developed calling for a first nations voice in the constitution

2023 refurendum

in 2023 the referendum question about having a voice in the constitution was designed and there was lots of information and missinformation on social media with one of the catchphrases that was used ‘ if you dont know, vote no’ - this encouraged people to not research the refurendum question. during the campaign there was increased racism towards first nations peoples. the referendum did not pass as majority of australian states voted no

wave hill walkoff

a landmark strike and lan land rights protest led by gurindji elder vincent lingiari who in 1966 led workers off wave hill station in darwin to protest after a delay in full pay for aboriginal workers. - the solution: in 1975 pm gough whitlam poured traditional soil into vincent lingiaris hands to symbolise the return of thee native title to the gurindji people.

freedoms rides (usa and australia)

in 1965 charles perkins led sydney university students on a bus tour through rural nsw to expose extreme racism and discrimination towards aboriginal people and racial bans to places of leisure and rights. inspired by the usa 1961 freedom rides led by the congress or racial equality to challenge jim crows laws that banned segregation on interstate buses. they faced brutal violence and attacks as well as mass arrests. this caused new strict laws in ending segregation in interstate transit facilities