Events - Aboriginal Rights and Freedoms: History Term 2

Real world explanation / example

The right to self determination has particular application to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as Australia's first peoples. Self determination is an 'ongoing process of choice' to ensure that Indigenous communities are able to meet their social, cultural and economic needs.

The Australian government claims sovereignty over all of its territory and peoples. In Australia, sovereignty rests in the Crown in Parliament. The Monarch plus the Parliament together exercise the sovereign power of Australia.

Aboriginal groups are recognised as nations based on their shared culture / language / history but do not have control of recognised territory and sovereignty over that territory.

The Australian state played a central role in policies like the Stolen Generations and the assimilation policy, demonstrating how state power can deeply impact citizens’ lives.

The Freedom Rides in 1965, led by Charles Perkins and university students, exposed racism in towns like Moree and Walgett, where Aboriginal people were banned from public spaces like pools and cinemas. The 1967 Referendum was a turning point in civil rights, allowing Aboriginal people to be counted in the census and enabling the federal government to create laws for them. Anti Discrimination Acts, such as the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, legally protected Aboriginal Australians from unequal treatment based on race.

Wave Hill Walk-Off 1966: The Gurindji people, led by Vincent Lingiari, protested unfair wages and demanded the return of their land. In 1975, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam symbolically handed back land by pouring soil into Lingiari’s hand. The Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976 (Northern Territory) was the first law in Australia to legally recognise Aboriginal land ownership. Mabo v Queensland 1992 overturned terra nullius and legally recognised Native Title rights.

1967 Referendum: Over 90% of Australians voted “Yes” to include Aboriginal people in the census and allow the federal government to make laws for them. It was a major civil rights victory and showed overwhelming public support.

 2023 Referendum (Voice to Parliament): A proposed constitutional change to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and establish an Indigenous advisory body (Voice). The referendum did not pass, showing that reconciliation efforts continue to be complex and contested.

The Bringing Them Home Report (1997) investigated the Stolen Generations and led to growing public awareness and calls for apology. National Sorry Day (first held in 1998) is observed each year on May 26 to remember the trauma of forced removals.
In 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered the national apology to the Stolen Generations, marking a significant moment in reconciliation.
Reconciliation Australia runs programs like Reconciliation Action Plans (RAPs) to encourage schools, workplaces, and communities to take part in closing the gap and acknowledging Aboriginal history.

Aboriginal people were often banned from public places like swimming pools, pubs, cinemas, and schools in towns such as Moree and Walgett. Freedom Rides in 1965 exposed these segregation practices. In Moree, Aboriginal people were prohibited from entering the local swimming pool until students from Sydney protested. Aboriginal people were also forced to live on missions or reserves, separate from the white population and under government control.

Assimilation Policy (officially adopted in 1937 and reaffirmed in 1951): Governments at both state and federal levels expected Aboriginal people, especially those of mixed descent, to adopt white customs and language.The Stolen Generations were a direct result of this policy. Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their families and placed in white institutions or foster homes to be raised away from their culture. Bringing Them Home Report 1997 highlighted how assimilation caused lifelong trauma, loss of identity, and disconnection from Country. Aboriginal people were pressured to stop speaking their languages, practising cultural traditions, or identifying as Indigenous to gain access to education, jobs, or housing.

In 1788, British colonisers arrived in Australia and claimed the land for the Crown without any treaty or negotiation with Aboriginal peoples.

This led to the dispossession of land, destruction of sacred sites, and violent frontier conflicts, such as the Myall Creek Massacre (1838).

Aboriginal people were treated as wards of the state, especially under Protection Acts (e.g. Aborigines Protection Act 1909 (NSW)). Aboriginal people could not marry, move, or work without permission from government Protectors.The Stolen Generations were a result of paternalistic thinking, assuming Aboriginal families were unfit to raise children.

The forced removal of Aboriginal children fits the definition of genocide under the UN Genocide Convention 1948. Frontier massacres during the 19th and early 20th centuries were often attempts to wipe out Aboriginal groups resisting colonisation.The Bringing Them Home Report 1997 stated that the removals could be considered acts of genocide.

The trauma caused by the Stolen Generations, loss of land, culture, and identity has led to long-term effects such as mental health issues, substance abuse, and loss of cultural knowledge. Many Aboriginal communities today still experience the effects of historical policies, contributing to inequality and disadvantage.

Declared in 1788 when the British arrived in Australia, ignoring the fact that Aboriginal people had lived there for over 60,000 years.
Overturned in 1992 by the Mabo Decision, which recognised Native Title and acknowledged that terra nullius was legally and morally wrong.

Before 1967, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were not counted in the national census, reflecting their exclusion from the nation’s identity and policy decisions. The 1967 Referendum changed this, allowing the federal government to count Aboriginal people in the census and make laws for them.

Mabo v Queensland (1992): This High Court case overturned terra nullius and recognised Native Title for the first time. Native Title Act 1993: Passed by the federal government to set out how Native Title claims could be made.
Wik Peoples v Queensland (1996): The High Court ruled that Native Title could coexist with other land uses, like pastoral leases, but could be overridden in case of conflict.

Under Australian law, public lands or "Crown lands" are claimed to belong to the British Monarch, but held in the right of the State. Since 1788, Australian territory has been considered to be land of the Crown, but regulated by State government legislation.

The Uluru Statement from the Heart (2017) calls for Voice, Treaty, Truth, showing that many Aboriginal people view a treaty as essential for justice and healing.

Large parts of Australia, especially in Northern Territory, Queensland, and WA, are under pastoral leases. Wik Decision 1996: The High Court ruled that Native Title can coexist with pastoral leases unless the two are in conflict, in which case the leaseholder's rights prevail. Aboriginal people have often been excluded or restricted from accessing their traditional lands due to pastoral leases, limiting their ability to practice culture and customs.